


Found Our Way to Finding Each Other

by blackrose_17



Series: Butterfly Effect [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom, Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Community: mpregbigbang, F/F, F/M, Family, Ianto and Phil Are Not Who They Seem To Be, M/M, Mpreg, Stargate Makes An Appearance, Torchwood Season Two Doesn't Happen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-01
Updated: 2014-04-01
Packaged: 2018-01-17 20:22:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 43,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1401283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackrose_17/pseuds/blackrose_17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jack left Torchwood Three behind to chase after the Doctor he left behind more than just a broken heart of Ianto Jones; he left their unborn child. Hurt and heartbroken Ianto seeks help from the man who’d raised him, Phil Coulson. Together with his former mentor and the ragtag group that Phil has acquired Ianto finds a new home and a love he didn’t think he could ever have again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Beta: RoyalLadyEmma  
> Art by: Gryph see the wonderful art here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/1253368 and here: http://gryphon2k.livejournal.com/275653.html  
> Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood, the Avengers, Doctor Who or Stargate Atlantis, I do own all original characters

**Chapter 1**

_Twenty-four years ago in lingering time_

_There was once a great race known as the Time Lords but there was a great war brewing. At the same time, a young child was born to two Time Lords who would someday soon find themselves bitter rivals instead of the soul mates they once were. To protect their son they would hide him with another of their kind, one who had long ago chosen to live among the humans. He promised_ _to raise the child as his own but never agreed to keep his Gallifreyan heritage hidden from him. This kind-hearted step-parent knew that the day would come when this child would be the one to restart the Time Lord race._

According to Ianto’s calculations, the true beginning of the end was when Jack and Tosh had been sent back to 1940's. That was where Jack met and fell in love with the real Captain Jack Harkness; it happened in a matter of hours, during which present-day Jack forgot all about Ianto waiting anxiously for him in the future.

Jack had always respected Ianto’s privacy and his desire to keep their relationship low key and only between the two of them; the last thing he wanted was to have to listen to snarky comments from Owen or to endure Gwen’s jealous glares. Ignorant of Ianto’s true situation, Tosh had no problems with indulging in a bit of story-telling and so over a cup of Ianto’s delicious coffee, she told him all about watching Jack fall in love the handsome pilot. Ianto had to bite the inside of his mouth as he listened to his best friend gush about how utterly heartbroken their boss was when he had to leave the other Jack behind.

It was in that moment that Ianto Jones realised he didn't mean nearly as much to Jack as he had previously thought. He felt quite foolish as he remembered protesting Owen’s nasty comments that fateful day. He’d thought the medic had still been hurting over the loss of Diane when he’d called him Jack’s part-time shag only it was Ianto that proved to be the fool.

As Tosh prattled on about how romantic the entire event had been despite the fear of dying in a German bombing raid, Ianto felt intense pain clench at his heart and red-hot bile build up in his throat; he’d never felt so sick or used in his life.

Something must have shown on his face because he was quite startled when Tosh placed a gentle hand on his arm. "Are you all right, Ianto? You've gone pale," she asked with true concern shining in her eyes.

Ianto swallowed thickly and forced his long-practiced fake smile on his face. "I'm fine Tosh; it's just been a long day and I think the fear of never seeing you and Jack again along with the adrenaline of shooting Owen have worn off. I'll be fine after a good night's rest.” As he patted her hand reassuringly it reminded Ianto just how good of a conman he was when Tosh accepted his words with a smile.

Tosh still didn't know what had led Ianto to shoot Owen in the shoulder other than he was trying to stop Owen from opening the Rift in order to bring them back. While Tosh was happy to be back in her own time, she couldn't help but be just a little upset with Ianto for hurting Owen. Rationally she knew that Ianto must have had a good reason for doing so, but as a woman she couldn’t help her anger; she still had feelings for Owen and hated seeing him in any type of pain. "Well if you think all you need is a good night's rest then I don't see why you shouldn't take an early night. Why don’t you go finish up your coffee while I go up and check on Jack."

Ianto didn't see the point in arguing with Tosh and truth be told, he would much rather lick his wounds in private. _'And I very much doubt that Jack will even notice that I’m not here. I can't blame him for finding love and happiness with someone else, although it hurts so much to know that I’m so easy to replace. I guess I truly read more into this… this whatever it was with Jack than I thought.'_ Ianto felt a wave of overwhelming sadness grip his heart as he realised that Owen was right; he was nothing special to Jack and that fact hurt more than it should.

Tosh watched as Ianto took their dirty coffee cups up to the kitchen; she could see the dejected slump in his shoulders as he walked away from her and she bit her lower lip wondering if she said the wrong thing to Ianto. Being the quiet type who was able to hide behind her computer monitors let Tosh see and hear far more than anyone in the Hub gave her credit for. She had her suspicions about the nature of Jack and Ianto's relationship but no one could truly figure it out. In fact she had serious doubts that even _they_ knew what kind of relationship they were in because there were moments when both men displayed true jealousy over anyone the other mentioned or looked at. Biting her lower lip Tosh looked worriedly over where Ianto had exited the Hub.

Pausing on the steps up to the office, Tosh watched as Ianto collected his coat. Gloves and keys and then disappeared through the cog door without saying good-bye. _'I hope I didn't hurt Ianto's feelings by telling him about Jack's doomed romance with the real Captain Harkness. Or it could be that Ianto knows what it feels like to be helpless to stay with the one he loves and hearing about Jack opened up still-healing wounds from Lisa. I think I’ll mention it to Jack, maybe he can talk to Ianto tomorrow, see if he’s all right.’_ With that decided Tosh turned her attention to helping Jack through his heartbreak the best she could.

It was only when the shrill sound of the door’s sirens filled the air that Jack finally seemed to blink out of the mind-numbing haze he had entered after drinking an entire bottle of scotch he’d had hidden away in his bookcase. He knew that alcohol really didn’t do anything for him but leave a pleasant albeit short-lived buzz; tonight he wished it would do a lot more to ease the pain of losing the real Jack after only having him for a few hours. When he’d held the other man in his arms, first as they’d danced and then again as they’d kissed, Jack had felt at peace with himself, like he was finally home for the first time in decades, centuries even. Knowing that there was nothing he could do – _nothing –_ to save his namesake’s life had been just as devastating as being left behind by the Doctor on Satellite 5. He’d felt so unbearably helpless and hopeless both times and it was a feeling he really didn’t like.

Owen was long gone and Gwen had left a few hours ago, so when he heard the door alarm, he hoped that it was Tosh leaving for the night and Jack smiled. Tossing the empty bottle in the trash he ran his fingers through his hair before shoving his chair back and getting to his feet. He’d head down to the Archives and find his beautiful young Welshman; he wouldn’t mind losing himself in Ianto for a little while, to help him forget what he had lost that day. Jack knew it wouldn’t be fair to Ianto to use him as a replacement but for that one night Jack didn’t care, he just needed to forget.

Stumbling slightly as he took a few steps toward his door, Jack shook his head with wry amusement; he realised he must be a little drunker than he originally thought. He sobered up rather quickly when he glanced out his office windows and saw that it wasn’t Tosh leaving but Ianto.

That was incredibly unusual; Ianto was always the last one to leave, especially now that they’ve started whatever it was going on between them. In fact Jack couldn’t remember a time when Ianto had ever left early, even when he’d came back from his suspension and clearly wanted to be anywhere but there alone with Jack. It was only Ianto’s deep sense of duty that had kept him there in the Hub tiding up hours after the others were long gone.

A gentle knock on his door pulled him from his musings, there was only one person left and Jack tried not to let his disappointment show as he called out, “Come on in, Tosh.”

There was a shy smile on Tosh’s face as she entered Jack’s office. “I just thought I’d come by to see how you’re doing after today. I can’t image how hard it was for you to walk away from the real Jack. I could see it in your eyes every time you looked at him; you really fell for him, didn’t you?”

Jack honestly couldn’t explain how or why he had fallen so hard so fast for Captain Jack Harkness, although he’d be the first to admit that the man had been everything he wasn’t. He’d be the first to admit that he’d let himself get swept away by his memories of the romance of the time. Despite the ever present danger inherent with war, Jack had never felt as alive as he had serving with the RAF. He missed the times and the things he’d experienced back then and he needed to talk to someone and unlike anyone else he knew, Tosh had been there even if only for few hours.

Waving her toward the ratty old couch in the corner of his office, Jack followed her and flopped down onto its protesting cushions. “I never felt so strongly for anyone so fast,” he admitted with a rueful smile. “I’m not sure if I would call it love but he was someone special and I think if I had stayed it would have turned to love very soon.” A soft smile crossed his face as he let himself consider the possibilities for a moment.

Tosh’s smile turned sad and she reached out to rest her hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry, Jack. For you I wish we could have stayed longer, given you more time with him. If it’s any comfort at all I know you made him happy; I could see it in his eyes as he watched you walk into the Rift.”

“You think so?” Jack could have cringed at the needy tone of his voice.

“I know so, Jack.” Tosh’s tone was firm and her smile sincere, but then it faded. “Look, I know you don’t need more on your plate right now, but I spoke to Ianto about what happened today and it seemed to affect him pretty badly. I know there has always been this flirtatious thing between you, but I’m pretty sure that for Ianto it’s a bit more than that,” Tosh explained and then she apologised feeling like she had overstepped her bounds. “I’m sorry, it just slipped out.”

_“There’s no one.”_

Jack visibly cringed as he recalled his own words to the real Jack. He’d made no secret of the fact that he had been panting after Ianto since the moment he’d seen him that fateful night in Bute Park. He’d pursued the Welshman, flirting with him endlessly and finally seducing him; he’d been Ianto’s first male lover and now Ianto knew that he’d fallen for someone else. With a sinking heart he realised, _‘I am going to have a lot of damage to undo in the morning.’_

While Jack may not love Ianto, he did care deeply for the young Welshman and he could only imagine how much Tosh’s innocent gossip might have unintentionally ended up hurting Ianto. _‘But then again Ianto and I never promised each other anything,”_ the immortal started rationalising his guilt. _“And we certainly aren’t in a relationship so he can’t be too upset if I’ve fallen for someone else.’_

Jack knew he was grasping at straws because in his gut he knew full well how callously he had treated Ianto. “Don’t worry, Tosh, I’ll talk to Ianto in the morning; it’s probably nothing to worry about.” He tried to keep his tone light but they both knew that Jack was lying; this was not ‘nothing’ but they also knew that Ianto would never let his emotions show nor would he just come out and say what was bothering him.

Tosh wanted to say something, to reassure the man but she wasn’t sure what to say. True, she had her suspicions, but she had no real clue about the true nature of Ianto and Jack’s relationship, no one of did but the two men involved. A twinge of guilt began gnawing at Tosh’s stomach. _‘I just hope I haven’t ruined whatever was building between the two of them.’_

Guilt poked its sharp, bony finger into Jack’s spine; this was his mess and he needed to fix it. “Don’t fret Tosh, you did nothing wrong. This is between Ianto and I and we’ll work out our issues. Deep down I’m sure that he knows the whole thing was all a misunderstanding and that I’ll explain it in the morning.” Jack knew that Tosh would be blaming herself for saying something to Ianto; he could see her tell-tale signs of anxiety – the way she chewed on her lower lip and twisted a lock of hair between her fingers.

“If you’re sure, Jack, then I'll leave Ianto to you. I just hope I didn't ruin things between the two of you." Tosh truly wanted the two men to be happy and she hated the thought that she might have damaged whatever relationship was building between them.

Jack smiled reassuringly and shook his head at his tech genius. He wanted to say “no, if anyone has ruined things with Ianto it’s me,” but of course he couldn’t because officially, there was nothing going on for him to ruin. _'I should have been honest with Ianto from the start,’_ Jack mentally berated himself. _‘I should have told him that I wasn't looking for anything serious, but how could I have told Ianto that I was just biding my time until my Doctor came? It would break his heart if he knew that he was nothing more than a distraction?'_ Jack might have come off callous and cold in his past treatment of his lovers but he truly never meant to hurt Ianto.

"Like I said Tosh, don't worry about it, okay? You’ve had one hell of a day, so go home, have a long soak in the bath, a glass of wine and just relax. I'll talk to Ianto in the morning as soon as he comes in, okay?” Jack knew the time had finally come when he’d have to sit down and talk to Ianto about exactly what they both wanted from their arrangement. As much as he detested them, it was time to assign a label to whatever this was between them.

Cold fear gripped Jack and sent an icy chill down his back; he wasn't sure if he and Ianto even wanted the same things but if they didn’t, he wasn't sure if he could let go of Ianto. He may not truly _love_ the Welshman but he did care a great deal for him and besides, they were fantastic in bed together and he didn't want to lose out on _that_.

Despite all his plans and his best intentions, Jack never got his chance to talk with Ianto, as the next day the world all around them was falling apart as the aftershocks of opening the Rift began.

Throughout the day the team experienced visions of loved ones asking them, _begging_ each of them to open the Rift, to bring them back, to save them and slowly, one by one, the visitations were working.

In his head Ianto knew that it wasn't Lisa standing before him down in the cells; she felt wrong, she felt empty, like she wasn't real. But his heart leapt at the sound of her soft voice, the sight of her beautiful eyes and just for a moment, he believed. His Lisa was alive, she was whole again and she was his.

Then reality crashed down around him.

"You are _not_ my Lisa, so you can go to hell. I don't know what game you’re playing but I can guarantee it isn't going to work on me," Ianto jeered disdainfully at the ghost.

For a brief moment the image flickered and faded as the illusion of Lisa sneered at Ianto’s bravado then as suddenly as she’d first appeared the figure shifted into that of a young girl no older than four. She had waves of brown hair framing her face, as well as Ianto's twinkling blue eyes and Jack's cheeky, self-assured grin.

"What about me, Tad? Don’t you love me?” the little girl asked, her Welsh accent strong and lilting. “Think about me, your child. Do you really want me to die before I even have a chance to live?"

For a moment Ianto was frozen in place and all he could do was stare transfixed at the image of the little girl and of their own accord his hands flew to his stomach in an instinctively protective gesture. With a visible shake, Ianto regained his senses. "I don't know what you're talking about. I’m a man; there's no way I'm pregnant."

The little girl smiled yet the smile never reached her eyes, which had grown old, cold and empty. "That's what you think,” she mocked and her unexpected and uncharacteristically derisive tone sent a shiver down Ianto’s spine. “But the truth is very different, Taddy-dear; you are with child and there is no changing that fact. Too bad for you though, because we both know that Jack is not the type to be tied down, not even to you despite what you think. He’s not going to stay, not when the one he’s been waiting for is finally coming."

Ianto stilled as those words tore through his heart; he knew exactly who Jack was waiting for and why; in a moment of weakness Jack had told him about that eventful night on Satellite 5. Even if what the vision said was true, _‘And how can I be pregnant?’_ he would never want Jack to feel like he was forced to stay with care for them. The last thing Ianto wanted was to be an unwanted obligation for Jack.

The little girl smirked. “It doesn’t matter whether you tell Jack about your pregnancy or not, you’re still carrying his child and there’s nothing you can do to change that. I’m still going to be born.”

Again, Ianto’s hands went to cover his lower belly. "This shouldn't be possible! I mean I… we took precautions, I was always careful; there’s no way that this should have happened!” Ianto was bewildered; somehow, someway he suddenly _knew_ that what the strange girl said was true. “And I don't know why I'm discussing this with you; you're not even real!"

The little girl’s smile grew and she had that look in her eyes that just said ‘aren't you just precious’. "Oh trust me, I'm very real and you’re going to be my father – well, one of them, anyway. Now, my fate is in your hands; whether or not I survive what is to come if you _don't_ open the Rift is all up to you. Are you really willing to take that risk with your daughter’s life?"  

There was absolutely no way Ianto would ever place a child in danger and whoever was behind this ghostly farce knew that. Still Ianto refused to give an answer as he turned away from the smug-looking child, silently acknowledging that her master had won. The last piece of the puzzle had slipped into place and the Torchwood team was now in his grasp.

Jack was dead.

Ianto felt sick to his stomach; he had helped kill his lover and if everything that Bilis had said to him down in the cells was true, then he had also helped kill the other father of their child. Ianto couldn't breathe, he could feel the Hub walls closing in on him, they were cutting off his oxygen; a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face and his hands were beginning to tremble. He needed to get out before he had a panic attack; he could already feel a scream building in the back of his throat.

"I'm going to slip out and get us some food," Ianto murmured his excuse to Tosh. "We need to keep our strength up, we’ve already failed Jack, and we can't fail the rest of Cardiff."

Ianto saw Tosh flinch at his words and he felt badly for the pain he caused but he only spoke the truth. With Gwen downstairs at Jack’s side playing the grieving widow and Owen off somewhere racked with guilt and getting drunk, it was down to Tosh and Ianto to put the Hub back together and keep Cardiff safe. So far, they had gotten lucky in that everything seemed peaceful at the moment, but Ianto had a feeling this was just the calm before the storm. "I'm sorry, Tosh, I didn't mean to make you feel bad."

Tosh could see the pain Ianto was so desperately trying to hide; she knew that he was on the verge of falling apart but he was doing his best to keep it together, for her and for Cardiff. "It's okay, Ianto, nothing you said wasn't true.” She clutched his forearm tightly for a moment before releasing it with a smile. “I guess I could use something to eat. Are you going to bring Gwen something?"

A small indignant huff escaped Ianto's lips. The former PC hadn’t left Jack’s side since the team had brought him back to the Hub, claiming that he knew she was there and that no matter what she was going to stay with him until he returned to her. She had completely ignored the fact that her boyfriend had called more than a dozen times wondering where she was and if she was all right. "I shouldn't; hunger might force her away from Jack and back home to Rhys. I'm tired of lying to him about where Gwen is or why she hasn't been home for the last few days. She did what she did to save Rhys and now she completely ignores him in favour of sitting with Jack, robbing the rest of us of our chance to say goodbye to him."

It was on the tip of her tongue to ask Ianto if he was referring to all of them or about himself personally, but Tosh felt it wasn't the right time to ask. Seeing Ianto clearly so devastated over Jack’s death made her wonder just how much of their relationship she and the team hadn’t seen. "Ianto, are you okay?"

“I’m okay, Tosh.” As usual, Ianto forced a smile on his face. "Really. It’s just that given everything that’s happened, I would like to say goodbye to him myself, without Gwen and her crocodile tears around, but that's not going to happen until she remembers that she's not to only one who cared about Jack and that she has a man who loves her waiting at home.”

Tosh was surprised to hear the bitterness in Ianto's tone, not that she could blame him. Gwen’s over-the-top behaviour was getting on everyone’s nerves. She’d overheard the woman telling Owen that she and Jack had had a special relationship that he’d confided things in her because she was the heart of the team, and that none of the others could possibly understand how close they were. "I could try and get Gwen out of there, give us a few moments to say goodbye," she offered, hoping he realised she was referring to him more than herself.

Ianto shook his head no, even though part of him wanted to accept. "Thanks but there's no point; Gwen won't be moved. And in truth, Tosh, I don't think I could face Jack, not after what I did. It's okay; she'll have to leave sometime."

One week later Jack was still lying lifeless in the morgue and Gwen was still sitting next to him; they’d all watched her on the monitors, talking to him, adjusting his clothes, stroking his face and running her fingers through his hair. As much Ianto wanted his turn to say goodbye to Jack, there was something more important he had been putting off.

It was really rather easy to sneak away and go down to the autopsy bay. Gwen couldn't be moved from Jack's side and that sent a new wave of bitterness through Ianto; _‘what right_ _does_ _she have to_ _claim_ _the spot of a grieving widow when she opened the Rift to bring back Rhys?’_ Ianto shook himself, forcing his mind to stay on track; no, now was not the time to let such petty bitterness rule him. He gave a silent snort; maybe she had the perfect right; after all, Jack had never promised him anything and it was no secret of how fond Jack was of Gwen. For all he knew they could have been carrying on behind his back the whole time. Gwen did have a proven track record of sleeping around on the man she claimed to love.

Pausing on his way to Owen’s domain, Ianto collected a stray coffee mug and tipped several pieces of trash into the closest bin, using the opportunity to glance around. Tosh was still glued to her computers trying to repair the damage and put them back together after the Rift opening had played havoc with their delicate innards. As for Owen he was so racked with guilt over killing Jack that the only way he could step foot inside the Hub was completely sloshed. Even now he lay passed out on the old sofa behind Tosh’s workstation, snoring softly and – Ianto grimaced with disgust – drooling on the old stained upholstery.

Having reached his destination unnoticed, Ianto took a deep breath and quickly set up the alien scanner, taking care to be as quiet as possible. As he reached out to switch the machine on, his hand froze and for a moment he could only stare at it. He knew that within seconds of placing his hand on its surface, it would either confirm or deny what he was thinking. _‘Either I’m losing my mind and believing the ridiculous claims of a figment of my imagination or I’ve achieved the impossible and I’m pregnant.’_ A soft click later and the machine started to hum softly.

He couldn’t put it off any longer; someone might notice him in Owen’s domain at any moment. "Come on, Jones, you’ve defeated rabid Weevils and faced down Owen with a killer hangover; you can do this." Closing his eyes and uttering a silent prayer, Ianto placed his hand on the scanner willing himself to ignore its slight tremor. A choked sob escaped his lips as the indisputable sound of a tiny, fast-paced heartbeat quickly filled the room and it took him several moments to work up enough courage open his eyes and actually look at the scanner. This time Ianto’s sob was audible as reality hit him like a bolt from above, confirming what he already knew in his heart to be true: he was pregnant with Jack's child.

"Oh god!" With a strangled cry Ianto tore his hand off of the scanner and took a stumbling step backwards where he collided with the wall and then down it to collapse in a small heap on the floor. A wave of nausea hit him as he heard the echo of the baby’s – _his_ baby’s heartbeat in his mind; he was pregnant and his child's other father was lying dead in the morgue thanks to him and the rest of the team. Suddenly Ianto couldn't breathe and his own heart felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest as he experienced a moment of absolute clarity. He couldn't stay there; he had to get out, he had to escape, get away. How could he live with the pain of knowing that Jack would never know their child, never play with them or seeing them go to school and graduate? The realisation of everything Jack was going to miss out on was overwhelming.

A soft exclamation from above jerked Ianto from his reverie and he remembered where he was. Scrambling to his feet, Ianto quickly turned off the scanner and returned it to its cupboard; his mind was already making lists, deciding what to take, how to leave, where to go. As he mounted the stairs out of the med bay a disturbing thought struck him and he stumbled, missing a step. He wanted to run home as fast as his feet would carry him and bury is head beneath the covers but he couldn't leave Tosh alone, not to look after the Hub herself. Between Jack lying dead in the morgue, Gwen selfishly denying everyone else access and Owen keeping himself in a perpetually staggeringly drunken stage, there was only him and Tish to keep Cardiff safe.

Tosh said nothing as suddenly appeared from the autopsy bay; she hadn’t even noticed him going down there. She watched quietly from behind her monitors as Ianto made his way up to Jack's office. She could tell by the set of his shoulders and way he moved that he was upset just as she knew the office was his place of refuge. Without meaning to spy she had seen him crying into Jack's greatcoat, his shoulders heaving with great sobs before he’d sunk to the floor, wrapping himself in the beloved coat. Although she wanted to comfort him, Tosh had wisely left him alone, knowing he needed that moment to himself in order to vent his grief.

When the quiet snick of the office door closing drifted down to her Tosh came to a decision; enough was enough. _'That’s it! This has gone on long enough. I'm going to get Ianto his chance to say goodbye to Jack even if I have to drag Gwen out of there by her hair.'_ With a firm nod she began setting her plan in motion, it wouldn’t take long; first she would give Ianto a moment to collect himself then she would ask him to help her with something. Then, when he was preoccupied with that, she would deal with Gwen.

Twenty minutes later Tosh decided it was time to say she needed help. She out called loudly enough for her voice to reach the office, "Ianto, could you give me a hand with this?"

Drying his eyes Ianto took a deep, shuddering breath as he laid Jack's greatcoat across his desk; he was grateful that Tosh had given him a private moment to mourn. It took a bit of effort but once again he managed to collect himself and calm down; after hanging Jack’s coat on its customary hook and giving it one last loving stroke of his hand, Ianto went downstairs and joined Tosh to help with whatever she needed.

Ianto had always found the severed hand floating in a jar a bit macabre even for Torchwood, but for some unknown reason it meant a great deal to Jack. Tosh wanted to get it hooked up to its water filter and electrics supply but she couldn’t do the hook-ups and monitor the results at the same time.

“Okay, Tosh, it’s working; do you want me to remove the temporary power supply?”

There was no reply. “Toshiko?”

Ianto poked his head up to see why she wasn’t answering and he was rather surprised when Tosh was suddenly at his side one minute and rushing across the Hub the next. Twisting around to see where she was going in such a hurry, his breath caught in his throat as he watched Tosh throw herself into Jack's arms. Reaching out blindly for support, Ianto grasped the wall, needing to steady himself for a moment, his entire field of vision narrowed down to one fine point in time.

Jack, the man he was sure he had lost forever, was alive.

Jack held Tosh tightly against his chest, feeling her small frame wracked with sobs, and felt badly that he’d upset her. Didn’t she know he could never stay mad at her? He knew perfectly well that Tosh would have only done something as drastic as betraying him if someone she truly loved had been in danger.

"It's alright, Tosh, I forgive you," Jack whispered into her hair. He hadn't wanted to admit it but he was hurt that only Gwen had been there waiting for him to return to life. He ignored the little voice in the back of his head that said, _‘Only Gwen new about your little secret, so why would anyone else be waiting for you?’_

Pulling away from Tosh Jack watched with more than a little anxiety as Ianto slowly approached him; he knew that they were both to blame as to why Ianto was hesitant to come to him and when Ianto stopped an arm’s length away and stuck out his hand, Jack knew that he had a lot of work ahead of him to make things right with his young lover. He immediately decided that the first thing they would have to talk about would be what they both wanted from their relationship; it wasn't fair to Ianto to leave him in limbo.

"Come here," Jack murmured as he pulled Ianto into his arms; holding him tightly against his chest, Jack felt his lover take a shuddering breath against his neck and he was sure that the younger man was fighting hard to keep from shedding tears. He knew that Ianto's tender and caring heart was no doubt full of guilt for the role he’d played in Jack's death. The need to intensify their physical contact grew and Jack couldn't resist any longer; he needed Ianto to know that he had forgiven him and that he still wanted him. He needed – _they_ needed to heal the cracks that he had caused when he fell for the real Jack Harkness and forgot all about his lover. Pulling back just far enough, Jack caught Ianto's mouth in a kiss full of forgiveness and apology.

Surprised by the sudden display of physical affection, Ianto melted against Jack and returned the kiss pouring everything into it, from his confused feelings for Jack to his fear of how Jack was going to react to the new life growing in Ianto.

Ianto didn't want to let Jack go but they slowly parted and Jack's gaze flickered over Ianto's face, at first memorising every detail until concern appeared in his blue eyes. "Are you alright, Ianto?" Jack couldn't put his finger on it but there something seemed a little off with Ianto and his concern only grew when he felt the young man freeze in his arms before relaxing.

"I'm doing much better now that I know you’re back with us. I was so afraid that I would never get the chance to say I’m sorry for my role in your death," Ianto admitted in a small voice.

Jack had a gut feeling that Ianto was not telling him everything, but he let it go for now; there was still someone else he needed to talk to, to grant forgiveness if they ask for it.

Ianto felt the loss of Jack's warmth as soon as Jack stepped away and moved towards Owen; he knew that Owen desperately needed to hear Jack forgive him for his role in the immortal’s death. Ianto didn't dare take his eyes off of the scene before him as Jack hugged Owen, even though he could feel both Tosh's curious gaze and Gwen's burning glare on him. He didn't dare look at them, determined to keep his dignity; anything that went on between him and Jack was no one's business but their own even if Jack had just made it slightly more public than Ianto would have wished.

Jack stretched out full-length on his bed, twisting and turning to ease the muscles in his back, trying to work out the kinks in his body. His efforts were rewarded with a resounding snap as his neck jolted back into space; being dead for a week had left him feeling stiff and sore and he needed to move about to get the circulation back into his body. Feeling better than when he’d woken up, Jack climbed out of his bunker and up to his office, using the ladder for an additional stretch. He had hoped to talk to Ianto in privacy, but Gwen had sent the young archivist to do a coffee run since power had yet to be restored to the kitchen area and Ianto’s precious coffee maker was still out of action.

The moment Jack took his seat the former PC came dashing up the stairs and straight in to the room without stopping to knock or ask permission to enter. He knew he was going to have to have a little talk with Gwen about her imperious habit of issuing orders to her co-workers and more irritating to him, thinking she had exclusive rights to his time. During his long, hot shower Jack had wondered why Ianto hadn’t been there when he’d revived, and after he’d dressed, he’d used his office computer to check the CCTV footage from the morgue to see if Ianto had visited him at all. He really shouldn't have been as surprised as he was to find that Gwen hadn't left his side all week, he wasn't sure how he should feel about this. He wondered if the others had tried to sit with him with Gwen chasing them away or if she was the only one who really cared. He offered a silent plea to the Universe that the former was the truth, not the latter.

When he’d learned that Ianto wasn’t able to make him a cup of his favourite industrial-strength coffee Jack had hoped to send Gwen, along with Tosh and Owen, on a coffee run thus giving him a moment alone with Ianto to talk about their relationship. Instead, thanks to Gwen's command that the others leave he was left alone with her in the Hub, fending off her probing questions about who would have tempted him to open the Rift. He had no problem admitting that he wasn't entirely comfortable with her incessant questions; that was the one main fault he found with Gwen, her need to know _everything_. _'I wish Ianto was here, I need his quiet understanding.'_ Jack finally got Gwen to give him a moment's peace when he mentioned Rhys.

 _'Once Ianto gets back, I'm going to send the others home and have a long talk with_ him _about whatever this thing is between us; it's way past time I do this for him.'_ But all thoughts of talking about Ianto, their relationship or anything else slipped from Jack's mind when he heard the familiar sounds of the TARDIS, audible even down inside the Hub. In fact _everything_ but the knowledge that the Doctor had finally come back vanished from Jack's mind as he grabbed his bag and his Doctor detector and ran as fast as he possibly could towards the Plass.

Ianto knew the moment he stepped foot in the Hub and saw a freaked-out Gwen that his life was about to change again.

"Did any of you see Jack on your way out?" Gwen demanded and Ianto felt his world spin around him.

"Jack's gone?" Ianto hated the weakness in his voice.

Gwen was really panicking at that point. "Jack's gone! Someone has taken him! We have to find him!" Her voice was shrill, grating against Ianto’s raw nerves.

Ianto vaguely remembered Tosh pushing her cup of coffee into his hands as she rushed towards her computer and within seconds her fingers were flying across her keyboard as she pulled up the security systems looking for any evidence of what had happened to Jack. Her triumphant cry when she found the CCTV footage she was looking for sent a flare of hope through Ianto’s heart.

“Got it!” Tosh put the video clip up on the main viewing screen and they crowded around, eager to see what creature had captured their leader. What none of them had counted on however was watching Jack running happily across the Plass, a bright smile on his face as he headed for a 1960's blue police box. The incongruous structure was one that Ianto had seen before, on one of the worst days of his young life.

As Tosh played the clip again and again, Ianto found that his chest was so tight he couldn't breathe and black spots were beginning to float in front of his eyes. Jack hadn’t been captured. There was no one and nothing to fight. Jack had left them behind – left _him_ behind like they were nothing.

Without realising what he was doing Ianto's hands automatically flew down to rest protectively on his stomach where his and Jack's child was growing. _'I didn't even get a chance to tell him about you, I'm so sorry, baban,'_ Ianto apologized to his child. He wasn’t a fool; he’d found the files in the Archives long ago, ones that Jack thought he had destroyed. Ianto knew that Jack had been looking and waiting for the Doctor, _his_ Doctor and now that he’d finally arrived, Ianto knew that Jack wasn’t coming back.

His heart skipped a beat, and then another as the truth sank in: _‘Jack is never coming back.’_

Ianto wasn't sure if he could survive Jack leaving him; he didn’t know if he wanted to stay with Torchwood, not when he was going to be a single father…

 _‘I’m going to be a father,’_ he repeated the words several times in his head. _‘I don’t know what to do…’_ He swallowed against a rising tide of bile and his head swam; he could feel his blood pressure climbing rapidly. He remembered one of the clerks in Torchwood One’s HR department having to take early maternity leave because she couldn’t control her blood pressure and so he immediately began thinking calming thoughts; he needed to think of his child first. Against his will, the phrases ‘all alone’, ‘get out of Torchwood’ and ‘Jack’s already forgotten you’ kept floating through his mind.

 _'No!’_ Ianto shook his head. _‘Now is not the time for such thoughts! I have to concentrate on right now; I can think about what to do with my life later.'_ Ianto knew that there were some very tough decisions in his future, decisions that would have a long-term effect on him and his child, but right now he needed to think about Torchwood and the team. Someone needed to be in charge because who knew what would happen to them if it got out that Jack had left them behind.

Actually, Ianto knew exactly what would happen the moment news got out that Torchwood Three was leaderless; UNIT would be muscling their way in before the dust of Jack’s footsteps had settled.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Two full weeks passed and Torchwood Three were successful in keeping Jack’s abrupt departure hidden from everyone else. More importantly Ianto had managed to keep his pregnancy a secret from the others, but that was all about to change, and all because of a simple mistake.

Even when Jack was still with them it had been an unspoken rule that Ianto was the only one who spoke to UNIT, the Prime Minister’s office and the Queen but that morning Ianto had been late getting to work. It was still early days in his pregnancy but he was already finding himself a little fatigued. It was hard to get out of bed and on several occasions he’d had to sit down and rest for a few minutes after showering, shaving and dressing. As much as he loved the walk from his flat to the Hub early each morning, he’d learned the hard way that making the same trek home after a full day’s work led to collapsing on the sofa with his shoes and coat still on and falling fast asleep. Now he drove to and from work every day.

No one, not even Jack, knew that Ianto was adopted; Ianto himself didn’t find out until he was eight. His father had made very sure of that when Ianto had joined Torchwood One at the age of twenty-one; the man had connections that would make even Jack green with jealousy. He didn't know much about his birth parents other than the stories his father would tell him at bedtime, over and over again – they were his favourite bedtime tales and listening to them while tucked up cosy and warm in his bed were some of Ianto’s most treasured memories of his childhood.

Ianto’s childhood passed rather uneventfully and when he was fourteen, he’d told his father that he was bisexual the older man had sat him down for a serious conversation. They’d already had ‘the birds and the bees’ talk when Ianto was eleven – he and his best friend Gareth had discovered and then watched a porn clip on Gareth’s older brother’s computer and Ianto had come home with questions galore about what he’d seen. This talk though was unusual; Ianto had listened with open-mouthed amazement as his Tad explained that he was special, different from all the other boys. Hearing his Tad say that he could carry children that had been a shock and had created more questions than the porn video.

The older man then gave Ianto a locked, intricately carved wooden box and a small medallion which fit perfectly into the empty slot on the box’s lid and inside Ianto discovered his inheritance. Along with several beautifully illustrated books there were two rings, one slightly larger than the other – wedding bands, Ianto guessed – a few photographs of people Ianto didn’t recognise, a bundle of letters tied with a silk ribbon the same shade of blue as his eyes, a small figurine and a delicately enamelled medallion. All in all, it was a veritable treasure trove of his family’s history.

The day he’d discovered that he was well and truly pregnant Ianto was the first person out the door, leaving the Hub promptly at five o’clock. He’d rushed straight home, even running a red light in his anxiety. Retrieving the box from its hiding place beneath a false panel in the bottom of his wardrobe, he settled on the sofa with the books his biological parents had left for him in his father’s care. As a teen, Ianto had skimmed through the pages enough to learn the facts behind his unique physiology. This time however, he studied the section on male pregnancy very carefully and found that he would get tired much more easily during the first few months until the morning sickness – which wasn’t confined to the morning hours and could happen any time during day – kicked in. “Oh, joy of joys,” Ianto muttered, he was really _not_ looking forward to that.

In an effort to ease his guilt over betraying Jack, Ianto increased his hours of work at the Hub, arriving before the sun came up and staying long after it had gone down. He cleaned, polished and scrubbed until his back ached while down in the Archives he’d started working on several rooms filled with files and artefact that hadn’t seen the light of day in nearly one hundred years. Unfortunately over-working and being pregnant were not compatible and finally his exhaustion became so bad that even Owen noticed. He called Ianto down to the med bay, listened to his heart, checked his blood pressure and then ordered Ianto not to come in until late in the afternoon the next day.

Life in the Hub hadn't been easy the first two weeks of Jack’s absence thanks to the non-stop bickering and fighting between Owen and Gwen over who Jack would have wanted to take command. Neither Tosh nor Ianto was looking forward to taking orders from either of them but in the end, after a serious discussion in which they listed all the pros and cons of each ‘candidate’, they backed Owen for leadership. They decided that Gwen was just far too new to the reality of Torchwood’s world and that her bleeding heart would stop her from making the tough decisions.

The first thing Owen had done as leader was to ask Ianto to take over all liaison duties between Torchwood and the various governmental entities and officials, including Queen Elizabeth; it would seem that he only trusted Ianto to deal with them. Tosh was far too busy and much too shy to stand up to the bullying personalities at UNIT and Downing Street Gwen was simply far too easy to push around, to say nothing of being too soft-hearted to assert Torchwood’s authority over extra-terrestrials and alien artefacts. Ianto had calmly accepted the assignment; after all, it wasn’t anything that Ianto hadn't already done on Jack’s behalf so there would be no questions there.

Arriving at the Tourist Information Office nearly two hours late, Ianto wasted no time in slamming his hand on the big red button behind the counter and then sprinting down the stairs. Skidding to a stop outside the cog door, Ianto took a brief moment to straighten his tie, shoot his cuffs and catch his breath. The instant he entered the Hub he knew something was wrong; the tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife. Aside from Myfanwy circling overhead and shrieking with annoyance, Ianto could see a teary-eyed Gwen sitting hunched over in her chair, a ranting Owen standing over her and a fuming Tosh working furiously at her computers.

_‘What_ _have_ _I missed?’_ Ianto asked himself dreading the answer.

"I'm so sorry, Ianto! I didn't mean to. I swear it was an accident. You have to believe me that I didn't mean any harm. I really am sorry!" Gwen was blabbering and that sent warning bells off in Ianto's head.

Ianto didn't need to ask what had happened, Owen was more than happy to fill in the blanks. "One bloody day! I give Ianto one bloody half-a-day off and you manage to ruin everything!” Owen turned to look at Ianto; the doctor portion of his brain noted that the young man still looked tired and paler than normal, but his angry leader personality was still in charge of his mouth. “Thanks to this bloody ignorant big-mouth, UNIT knows Jack is gone,” he declared bitterly. “They've already begun looking into us, trying to find a way to take over. Tosh is trying to bury the reports but that might not be enough to keep them out."

Ianto’s blood froze in his veins and he began panicking all his worries were focused on his unborn child. _‘I can’t_ _let_ _UNIT find out about_ _my baby!’_ The hell with Torchwood, he needed to protect the innocent life growing inside him above everything else. _'Well I guess my decision on whether or not I should stay with Torchwood has been answered.'_ Gathering his wits about him, Ianto forced himself to ask, "We’ve been so careful and therefore lucky thus far; how did this happen?" That was the one question Ianto needed to know in order to see if there was some way of soothing everything over.

"Ask Cooper here,” Owen growled as he turned his death glare on Gwen. “All I know is that even though we’ve all been told to never answer the phone up in Jack’s office, Cooper decided she knew better AND even though we’ve all been told to put anyone who asks for Jack on hold and find you AND even though we’ve all been told that if you’re not available we’re supposed to take a message, she took a call from the Minister of Defence office,” Owen was forced to pause and catch his breath.

“It was the Prime Minister, Ianto, what was I supposed to do?” Gwen turned her tear-stained face toward Ianto, hoping he would understand.

“You were supposed to follow orders!” Owen exploded, his patience worn to the nub. “The next thing I know we’re getting bombarded by phone calls from everyone, from the head of UNIT all the way up to the bloody Queen! All wanting to know one thing where is Jack?"

Ianto's eyes flickered from Owen’s angry face over to Gwen and Ianto could see the true worry in her eyes. "Gwen, think very carefully; I need you to tell me exactly what you told Mr Saxon. He rather likes me and hopefully I can smooth this all over and say that he might have misheard you and that Jack is on an away-mission for Torchwood." Ianto’s mind was already spinning a mile a minute, beginning to make plans on how to turn things around and buy them enough time for Tosh to secure the Archives, files and Mainframe before his lie unravelled and they had UNIT swooping in to sink their claws into Torchwood Three.

Gwen was wringing her hands together as tears began to fall again. "I don't know what happened, I was just talking to Mr Saxon and it somehow just slipped out. I didn't mean for it to happen!" Gwen felt the tears falling from her eyes as she looked at the others; more than anything she needed to know that they believed her. Yes, she’d been upset that Ianto and Tosh had backed Owen to be leader when everyone knew she was Jack's second and his favourite, but surely they understood that she would never do anything to jeopardise any of them.

Ianto rubbed the bridge of his nose wearily; this is what he got for taking a half a day off. "It’s all right, Gwen, I'll see what I can do, but there is no sense in blaming one another. We have to have each other's backs otherwise they’re going to rip us to shreds." Ianto couldn't watch them tear each other apart, they needed to look after one another because if the truth got out of what they did to Jack… Ianto shuddered to think of horrors that lay ahead of them. UNIT had no conscience when it came to traitors. A flash of terror passed through him as he realised what would happen should they learn he was pregnant.

Doing her best to ignore Gwen’s waterworks, Tosh's fingers continued to fly across her keyboards; she knew that Harold Saxon had a soft spot for Ianto. In fact after speaking with Jack just one time, Saxon had emphatically declared that Ianto was the only one that he _ever_ wanted to talk to again. Needless to say, he hadn't been at all pleased when Gwen not only answered the phone but insisted in engaging in conversation with him. Now, thanks to Gwen Cooper, Torchwood was in grave danger and even if they couldn’t stop UNIT from taking control it was Toshiko’s plan to buy them a little more time, maybe enough for a miracle.

Ianto didn't move to Jack's office until he was sure that Owen and Gwen weren't going to kill one another. He paused in the doorway for a moment as memories and images flooded his mind, including the many times he and Jack had had sex in that room, or worked on budgets and forms at the desk, or slipped through the hatch to Jack’s underground bunker. Feeling a lump forming in his throat, Ianto gave himself a hard shake; _‘Get over it, Jack’s not coming back.’_ Forcing himself to enter the room and close the door behind him, he sank down into Jack's chair and let out a grateful sigh; he’d only been at work for thirty minutes and he was already tired. Picking up the receiver, he dialled the private line of Harold Saxon; Jack had pouted up a storm when he’d learned that the Minister of Defence had given Ianto his personal phone number. At the time Ianto had wondered if there wasn't a hint of jealousy involved when Jack realised and loudly commented on just how invested Harold Saxon seemed to be in Ianto's welfare.

"Hello?"

Ianto couldn't explain why he felt so at ease talking to Mr 'call-me-Harold, please’ Saxon, but just the sound of the man’s voice filled him with a sense of warmth and belonging and he smiled happily as he heard the Minister’s greeting.

"Hello, Sir, this is Ianto Jones."

"Ianto! What a pleasant surprise, I’ve been worried about you when it wasn’t you I talked to this morning." Harold's voice was very sincere as it came across the line. "I do hope you’re keeping up your health."

"I’m sorry for not being here this morning, Sir. I missed talking to you as well, Sir. Dr Harper had given me orders to rest; it would seem that I’ve been wearing myself out lately," Ianto explained. “And I do apologise for Miss Cooper’s interference, it won’t happen again, I assure you.”

"From what Miss Cooper tells me, I take it you’ve been picking up most of the slack left by Captain Jack Harkness’ sudden departure?” Although he phrased it as a question, there was no mistaking it for anything other than a statement of fact, “That can't be an easy task for you given your already over-whelming work load." There was a strong sense of concern in Harold's voice and it made Ianto feel wanted; he couldn't remember the last time anyone had shown any concern for him.

"Sir, I never meant to keep that from you but I didn't know what else to do." Ianto didn't know why he blurted out his confession, but ever since he’d started talking to Harold months ago he’d had the feeling that he could tell the man anything. _‘So why don’t you tell him you’re pregnant?’_ Ianto’s little voice asked.

"Ianto, I understand, I really do. I get that you were afraid of what would happen should UNIT find out but I'm afraid there’s nothing I can do. UNIT is mobilising its forces and they’re coming for you, all of you. I'm telling you this as your friend, Ianto; you need to get out of there immediately. You are no longer safe." There was real concern in Harold's voice.

"I don't know where to go," Ianto admitted in a small voice; without realising it he had his hand resting protectively over his stomach where his child was growing.

"Don't you? Ianto, I know who raised you and you know UNIT would never dare risking angering his boss. You would be safe with them. Take my advice, Ianto; leave Torchwood before it ends you and all that you consider precious," Harold urged Ianto. “I’ll buy you as much time as I can but you’ve got to go, now."

Ianto knew that Harold spoke the truth and that his adopted father could and would protect him. There was no way that UNIT would dare mess with his godfather; that man was the badass of all badasses and no one from UNIT would be brave enough or stupid enough to earn the formidable wrath of Nick Fury. "I'll look into it. And thank you for giving us more time. I won't forget this, Sir."

"All I want is for you to be happy and safe, Ianto. You have come to mean a lot to me and I would hate for you to suffer at the hands of UNIT for any reason." Harold's voice was soothing, it wrapped around him and made him feel deeply cared for, and Ianto found himself humming his agreement.

“Thank you, Sir.” Ianto was truly touched by Harold’s obvious concern.

"To tell you the truth, I’ve been giving the matter a lot of thought and I think you would do much better with SHIELD, I know they would appreciate you far more than just your coffee-making skills. I don't mean to cast stones but UNIT and the Queen would never have learned about Jack’s being gone if Miss Cooper had respected you and the fact that it’s you who is the liaison to not only myself but UNIT and Her Majesty. Quite frankly this whole mess could have been avoided if Cooper had followed orders."

Ianto didn't know why but he found himself agreeing with Saxon. There was no way he should have become the glorified butler, gopher and general dog’s-body for a bunch of rude, selfish people. Honestly, he really couldn't think of a single good reason as to why he should stay at Torchwood Three. None of the others had ever truly accepted him; they just liked that fact that he supplied them with coffee on demand, cleaned up after them no matter what the mess and generally waited on them hand and foot. _‘Well no more,’_ Ianto decided. ‘ _I’m done_ _being the_ _fall-to guy; it’s time they learned to care for themselves.’_ After all, he now had someone much more important to look after.

"Thank you, Mr Saxon; you've truly given me something to think about.”

In his office a smile curved on the lips of Harold Saxon as he relaxed into his plush leather chair. "I'm very pleased to hear that, Ianto; out of all of Torchwood you are the only one I truly like and your happiness means the world to me."

Ianto had no idea how true that was; Harold Saxon would do anything and everything in his power to ensure Ianto's happiness and a bright future. As far as he was concerned, that future did not include Torchwood or Jack Harkness and by the time he was through with his plans, Ianto would want nothing more to do with any of them ever again.

There was something in her past that Tosh had never told Ianto, Owen or Gwen about, and she wasn’t planning to bring it up until she knew for sure what their fate was; with luck it might not be necessary to reveal her secret at all. When she’d first come to work for Jack he had promised her that he would have a back-up plan in place for her safety and that of any Torchwood Agent should he have to leave and not come back. She trusted him implicitly and knew that Jack would never go back on that promise; she just needed to find it. There wasn’t a computer network or operating system that she couldn't hack into and Jack knew that; Tosh was certain that it was hidden somewhere in Torchwood's unique systems and as they were her playground victory was assured.

Still Tosh had to give Jack credit for creativity; it took her most of the day to crack into his secret files but when she did she found exactly what she was looking for. Jack had planned ahead and in the event UNIT or any other hostile group seized control of Torchwood’s Hub and he wasn’t able to stop them or retake the Hub, Jack had rigged Mainframe to trigger his back-up plan.

Tosh had to admire his ingenuity; using a bit of alien technology, Jack had written a program which was linked to his wrist strap. When Mainframe could no longer detect its signal – which would only happen if he left planet Earth – she would launch a countdown and if Jack didn’t return and enter a specific code within ten hours the computer system would send a detailed document to Stargate Command, which lay buried deep beneath Cheyenne Mountain in the US state of Colorado.

As she read the report being displayed before her Tosh couldn’t keep a smile from curling her mouth upward; as usual Jack was looking out for them all. Suddenly her smile faded and she felt her heart break. _'Oh Ianto! I'm so sorry. How am I going to explain this to you?’_ She knew that the words she was reading were going to destroyher friend _‘…and I have to be the one to break it to him.’_ She knew that Owen and Gwen would take too much pleasure in hurting Ianto. _‘Oh Jack, why would you do this to him? Doesn’t he mean anything to you?'_ For the first time since Jack had rescued her from her living hell with UNIT, Tosh felt disappointment in the man and she didn't like that feeling; after all, he was her hero.

Ianto's favourite time to be at the Hub had always been when everyone else was gone for the day and it was just him and Myfanwy and the soothing sound of water trickling down the metal tower. After giving the team the sad news that there was nothing Harold Saxon could do to stop UNIT, Ianto spent the rest of the day hidden away in the Archives. It didn’t take long before he had a splitting headache from thinking about what Saxon had told him but the more he thought about it the more he realised that the man was right. Deep down he’d always known he would never fit in with the team no matter how hard he tried; he was still the outsider and even though he had proven that he could con even Jack, they still underestimated him.

The sound of heels clacking along the floor pulled Ianto out of his thoughts and with both Gwen and Owen gone for the night he knew of only one person who would be still here. "I'm down here, Tosh, just getting Myfanwy's snack ready," Ianto called up to Tosh.

Biting her lower lip Tosh joined Ianto, nervousness rolling off of her in waves.

"What's wrong, Tosh? You know you can tell me anything." Ianto could tell there was something bothering Tosh. “Has Owen upset you again? Want me to put him on decaf for a while?”

A brief smile flashed across her face as Tosh shifted nervously from foot to foot; she didn't want to hurt Ianto's feelings but he had to know the truth. Drawing a deep breath she plunged in, "At some point, Jack made back-up plans for us in case anything like this happened.”

Ianto’s eyebrow rose with surprise but “Wow!” was all he could say.

Tosh had to fight back the tears that threatened to flood her eyes. “We’ve been assigned to join Stargate Command, over in the States."

Ianto swallowed hard, something in Tosh's voice made it clear he wasn't going to like what she had to say. "Who is us, exactly?"

Tosh couldn't hold Ianto's gaze any longer and she shifted her eyes to stare at her shoes as she whispered, "Owen, Gwen and me."

Ianto stumbled back and fell against the large bin that held the Weevil food, hurt lacing his very soul. He didn’t want to believe that Jack had made back-up plans to save everyone but him. "I see," and he finally did; it was clear as crystal that he would _never_ be one of Jack's, a true member of his team. As far as Jack Harkness was concerned, Ianto Jones he was just damaged goods from Torchwood One.

Tosh wanted to comfort Ianto but she wasn't sure she had the right; she’d thought that Jack had forgiven Ianto and she was sure that Ianto had thought the same. However Jack’s blatant failure to provide for Ianto proved this to be not true. She reached out hesitantly but never actually touched him. "Ianto, this could be an oversight. Maybe there was a mix-up with the paperwork. Before we jump to conclusions let me keep looking; I might have missed something, a hidden file maybe, okay? You do know Jack wouldn’t throw you to the wolves, don’t you?"

Ianto swallowed hard; he could tell that even Tosh didn't believe the lies she was telling him and he slowly shook his head. "No, there was no mix-up, I was only fooling myself in thinking that I would ever belong here.” A visible change came over him as Ianto straightened up, put his shoulders back and lifted his chin. “You don't have to worry about me, Tosh; I have my own back-up plan." Now more than ever Ianto was going to need help in keeping his little one safe and far away from Torchwood and UNIT.

Tosh saw the familiar old mask of stoicism fall into place and the light in his eyes died out and something primal in her screamed that this would be the last time she ever saw Ianto again. "Are you okay, Ianto?" she asked reaching out hesitantly to touch his arm.

"I'm fine, Tosh, really I am. I’ve just realised that I never truly belonged in Torchwood and between Jack’s leaving and his omitting me from his plans to keep the team safe, it's just proof that it’s time I return to my real home." Ianto clenched his teeth, forcing back the huge lump in his throat; he absolutely refused to let Tosh see the pain in his eyes. Knowing that he meant so very little to Jack broke his heart and shattered his self-esteem; the only thing keeping him going was the fact that he had others that he could count on, people who truly loved him and accepted him for who he was.

More than a little confused by his calm demeanour, Tosh blinked at Ianto but she didn't push him for answers; they all had their little secrets. She couldn't blame him for feeling like he didn't belong; none of them had ever truly taken the time to make Ianto one of them, and his exclusion had only gotten worse after Lisa was discovered. Tosh was ashamed to admit that she was just as guilty as the rest, although perhaps a little more polite and a lot less obvious about it than the others. She had never spoken to Jack about what she’d overheard when she’d wore the alien pendent; she’d told him what she heard from Owen and Gwen but had completely ignored the gnawing pain that Ianto was in.

_'I guess it's not just Jack who's guilty of ignoring Ianto, I'm just as bad and now it looks like it's too late to do anything about it.'_ Tosh reached out and caught Ianto’s arm, squeezing it tightly for a moment. "I'm so sorry, Ianto; I never took the time to get to know you or make you feel like you belong; even after all you’ve done for me. I don’t mean just helping me get away from the cannibals but also how kindly you treated me after Mary. I hope you find some sense of happiness wherever you end up.” A hard lump caught in her throat as she confessed, “I just wish we could have been friends."

"I'm pregnant, Tosh." Ianto had no clue why he blurted that out, but he wanted someone else to know, he needed to know if someone cared and he desperately wanted the friendship that Tosh was offering no matter how late in their relationship it came.

For a moment Tosh could only stare at Ianto. "I don't understand, how?"

Ianto fidgeted as he played with his cufflinks, part of him already regretting his revelation. Finally he looked up and gave a fast, nervous smile. "There are things kept from my Torchwood files, things that were changed and hidden for my protection and I’m sorry but I can't tell you what they are, Tosh, just that I can have children," Ianto explained.

"Is it... is it Jack's?" Tosh found herself asking softly although she was pretty sure she already knew the answer.

"Tosh, there's only been two men I've ever wanted, one I never got the chance to be with and then there was Jack."

"Did he… does he know?" Tosh refused to believe that Jack would have fallen in love with the real Jack Harkness if he’d known that Ianto was pregnant with his child.

“He doesn’t know.” Ianto shook his head, horrified to find his eyes filling with tears which he quickly blinked away. "I only found out afterwards. Bilis used our child against me to open the Rift. I can't stay here, Tosh, Torchwood has brought nothing but pain and suffering in my life. I don't want to die and leave my child a Torchwood orphan. I would ask General O’Neil if I could join you three at Stargate Command but who knows what assignment I would get. I have to think about my child’s safety first and making sure that they grow up with a least one parent."

Tosh was in awe of Ianto; she couldn't believe how strong he was being even though he was facing being a single father. "If Jack hadn't left would you stay?" She didn't know why she was asking but the question just fell from her lips before she could stop herself.

"I don't know, Tosh, I really don't know,” Ianto’s shoulders drooped and he suddenly looked exhausted. “We weren't exactly in a committed relationship or even _in_ a relationship at all. Sometimes I think Owen was right when he called me Jack’s part-time shag; I know for Jack it was just a comfort thing. I guess it doesn’t matter now although I don't think I would have stayed with Torchwood. Stay or go, either way I would not deny Jack knowing his child." Ianto knew he couldn't raise a child in Torchwood just as he would have done everything in his power to ensure that Jack was an important part of their child’s life.

Tosh could see that Ianto's mind was truly made up and she had to agree with his stance that no child should be raised without a parent. She felt proud that he was so determined to do what was for the best for his unborn baby. "I will do everything in my power to help you, Ianto. What do you need?"

Ianto was extremely grateful for Tosh’s easy acceptance of his situation and it showed in his smile. "Thank you Tosh, but I have everything well in hand. I’m more concerned about you; are you going to be okay?"

It warmed her heart to know that despite the uncertainties he faced in his own life, Ianto was so worried about her. "I think I will be. I’m actually a little excited about it; this could be a new start for me and I've dreamed for working at Stargate Command since I first heard about it. It's full of the brightest minds and it's a dream to work there. Can you imagine how amazing it is that their people travel to other planets all the time? I don’t know if they’ll let _me_ go, but I’m certainly going to ask! I really think this is going to be good for me," Tosh admitted sounding more excited than Ianto had heard in a long time.

"They’ll be lucky to have you, Tosh. You’re brilliant at everything you do," Ianto told her honestly.

"Thank you Ianto, I hope you know that if you ever need any help that I’m here for you." It was important to Tosh that Ianto knew that he at least had one friend from Torchwood. Aware that she was starting to get emotional about their up-coming separation, she changed the subject. "What are we going to do about Myfanwy? We can't let UNIT get their hands on her."

Ianto gathered up the pteranodon’s food and led the way back upstairs to the Hub’s main floor. He smiled with great affection as his gaze drifted upwards to Myfanwy's nest. "She will be coming with me. I'm sure SHIELD wouldn't mind having a pet."

"I'm glad; I know how much she means to you." Tosh was quite pleased that Ianto would have someone to protect him and who better to act as a guard dog for his child than his hers own personal dinosaur. Then Ianto’s words clicked in her mind. “Wait, you’re going to SHEILD?”

“Yep,” Ianto couldn’t help but be amused by Toshiko’s surprise.

“Ianto, that’s wonderful! How…? I mean…” For once the computer and tech genius was at a loss for words.

“Old friends of the family,” Ianto didn’t want to reveal too much about his past, not even to Tosh. “They’ve been after me for a while to quit Torchwood and join them, but you know, things being what they are and all…” Ianto’s voice trailed off.

“Oh, Ianto, that’s wonderful! They’ll be so lucky to have you.” Tosh was overjoyed to find that Ianto was going to be safe and happy. “But, you know, I think you should tell Owen about your pregnancy, just so he can check to make sure that everything is alright."

Ianto gave a soft whistle and Myfanwy responded with a crowing sound before sticking her head out of her aerie. “Hello there, ,” he cooed at her as he raised the bucket of food so she could see it. She responded immediately with an excited cry as she launched herself into the air and began a spiral swoop down to land on the floor a few feet away from where Tosh and Ianto stood.

Tosh watched in amazement as the gangly bird hopped over next to Ianto and butted him gently with her head. “What did you call her?” she asked softly, not wanting to upset Myfanwy.

“Chicreadurhyfryd, it’s Welsh for ‘you beautiful creature’.” Ianto scratched Myfanwy head before reaching into the bucket for a hunk of meat. Holding it on the flat of his hand, he waited while his dinosaur turned her head and gently plucked the food from him without touching him. The meat was gone in a single gulp and then Myfanwy was looking at him, expecting more.

“That’s amazing!” Tosh was mesmerised by the pteranodon; it was the first time she’d been able to her up close and personal. “Did you teach her to do that?”

Ianto nodded and took another chunk from the bucket. “You want to try? She won’t bite.”

“Really?”

Ianto grinned, “Yes, really. Just hold out your hand and keep it completely flat.” Tosh followed his instructions and tried to hide her wince at the feeling of the cold meat Ianto placed on her palm. “Okay, now just slowly stretch out your arm and let her smell you and she’ll take the food when she’s ready.”

Myfanwy cocked her head and stared at Tosh with open curiosity. She stretched out her neck and sniffed Tosh’s hand. She knew this human; she was the quiet one who always smelled nice. Satisfied that it was safe, Myfanwy very carefully opened her beak and slipped the food from Tosh’s palm and then quickly swallowed her prize.

“Did you see that? She took it, Ianto, right from my hand,” Tosh whispered, her tone one of pure wonder. “That was absolutely amazing!”

“She’s a good girl,” Ianto said proudly as he scratched her under her chin and listened to the pteranodon coo and croon throatily. “You’re a very good girl, aren’t you and you deserve the very best chocolate for dessert today don’t you?”

Tosh was quite touched by the obvious affection Ianto and Myfanwy had for one another. Ianto raised his hand in a sweeping motion and she watched as Myfanwy took several awkward hopping steps forward and launched herself into the air, her massive wings creating a stiff breeze. Ianto waited until his pet was fully airborne before he threw a large fish into the air. Within seconds the pteranodon swooped down and snapped the food out of mid-air. Five minutes later the meat and fish were gone and Myfanwy was on the floor again, nudging Ianto impatiently for her treat.

Smiling proudly Ianto pulled a large bar of premium dark chocolate from his pocket, unwrapped it and broke into several chunks. He tossed a piece towards Myfanwy who grabbed it but unlike the meat, she didn’t instantly gulp it down. To Toshiko it looked like the prehistoric creature was actually savouring the bitter-sweet treat. When all the food and chocolate had been devoured, Myfanwy chirped happily and took to the air again, darting and diving through the tangle of rafters and catwalks before returning to her nest.

“Thank you, Ianto,” Tosh said gratefully. “Thank you for sharing Myfanwy with me. She really is an incredible creature.”

Ianto ducked his head shyly. Usually everyone just complained about Myfanwy; Tosh was the first person to express their appreciation for her. “Thank you, Tosh, for everything.”

Knowing that Ianto was referring to more than just her compliments for his beloved pet, she said, What about talking to Owen?”

"I've been thinking about that, and while I want to keep this to myself as much as possible, I also want to make sure my child is okay. Owen and I have never been exactly close but I was wondering if maybe you could talk to Owen and see if he wouldn't mind coming in?" Ianto asked hesitantly. He wasn’t used to asking for things for himself, but his baby’s health was too important to allow that to stop him.

To Tosh he suddenly looked like a shy and unsure little boy that she had doubts he’d ever had the chance to be. "I'll call him right now and make him get over here _and_ I'll make sure that he doesn't tell Gwen anything," Tosh promised.

The relief was clearly visible on Ianto's face. "Thank you Tosh, I'm definitely not ready for her to know." He wasn't sure if he ever wanted Gwen to know about his baby simply because that would mean telling her about his relationship with Jack. The former PC had gone out of her way to let everyone know that she was _very_ fond of Jack and Ianto wasn't sure how Gwen would react to the news that he and her idol had been sleeping together. He certainly wasn't ready to deal with her over-the-top jealousy or her ridiculous need to mother him endlessly.

Ianto shook his head and repeated himself forcefully. "No, I do _not_ want Gwen to know about my pregnancy. Given her feelings for Jack I really doubt she’s going to handle the fact that I’m pregnant with Jack’s child very well at all.”

Tosh could understand Ianto’s decision; it wouldn’t be easy to figure out how Gwen would take the news. Either she would begin smothering Ianto with unwanted attention and be all righteous and angry on his behalf or she would be bitter with pure jealousy that Ianto had been with Jack even if only for a short time. “I think you’re making the right decision,” she agreed. “Knowing Gwen’s emotional maturity she’ll make your life a living hell either by killing you with kindness or with sheer vindictiveness. I’m pretty sure that she would want to hunt Jack down and make him take responsibility for his child even though she would be consumed by jealousy because Jack would rather have sex with you rather than her. I don’t think it will hurt Gwen to be kept out of the loop for now, and maybe even forever. After all we’ll be going our separate ways once Torchwood Three is closed down and you won’t see her again until Jack comes back and straightens everything out.”

The look Ianto gave her was full of disbelief, hurt and even a little anger. “What makes you think that Jack is ever going to come back here? He found his Doctor, Tosh, the one he’s been waiting over a century for. I honestly don’t think that Jack plans on coming back here. Let’s face it, we were nothing more than a distraction, a way for him to pass the time and now he no longer needs us. He’s got what he wanted and now we’re useless.” The bitterness in Ianto’s tone made Toshiko cringe.

Tosh stared at Ianto with a horrified expression; she could not believe what she was hearing! There was no way that Ianto truly believed everything he was saying, did he? “You don’t really believe that do you, Ianto? That you were nothing more than a handy distraction to Jack?”

Aggravated because in a small way he really did think that, Ianto ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know, Tosh, I just don’t know! If we were important to him then why did he keep so many secrets from us? He didn’t even trust us enough to tell the rest of us that he couldn’t die! What makes Gwen so special that he confided in her? Why could he trust her and not us?”

Tosh heard the non-said but so very plaintive _‘Why not me? Why aren’t I special?’_ and her heart sank. She couldn’t begin to explain it to herself, how on Earth was she going to explain to Ianto. She had absolutely no idea why Jack would choose to keep something so big from them, and yeah, she completely agreed with Ianto that Jack had been horribly unfair to them all. It did hurt, very much so, to know that Jack didn’t trust any of them in the way that he trusted Gwen.

Gathering her thoughts, Tosh tried to put on a brave smile as she said, "I don't know, Ianto, but he did care about us, I know he did, I mean he had to, didn’t he? Otherwise why would he have saved us all those times?" Despite the brave façade Tosh put on, there was still hurt lacing Tosh's voice. "You look exhausted, Ianto; why don't you just go sit down and rest while I go call Owen."

Ianto had to admit that being the one taken care of for once felt really nice. "Thank you Tosh, that sounds like a good idea," Ianto’s eyes were filled with gratitude.

Tosh shook her head slowly. "No, we should have been taking care of you all along; you are one of us after all and we’ve run you ragged looking after us without ever giving you and your needs a passing thought. Well, that stops now; while we don't have much time left together, I promise that you will have Owen and me till the end."

For the first time since his arrival at Torchwood Three Ianto actually believed that maybe he would have found some happiness and actually been made a part of the team, but it was a little too late for that now.

As she sat down at her desk and pulled out her mobile, Tosh watched Ianto go, she could tell by the way he was moving that he was hurting. _'I hope that you find some peace, Ianto, for you and your child's sake, the happiness that you were denied by Torchwood.'_

__

The screaming sirens that signalled the opening of the cog door startled Tosh and she glanced quickly over at Ianto but he was still sound asleep. Owen stomped across the floor towards her grousing with every step, "This better be bloody important Tosh, I was just about to get lucky." The medic was not at all happy being dragged away from looked like to be a very promising night with a voluptuous blonde Swede on holiday.

Tosh shook her head and Owen was actually surprised to see a look of disappointment in Tosh's eyes as she gazed at him. "This is far more important than you getting laid, Owen; Ianto needs you so stop behaving like a sex-crazed teen-ager and start acting like the doctor we both know you can be."

Owen blinked as he stared speechlessly at Tosh, never in their time working together had she ever talked to him like that and despite the circumstances, he couldn't help but find it a little hot. "So where’s he hurt?" He had figured it Ianto who’d been injured when he got the call; Tosh seemed to be fine and Gwen should be tucked away safely at home with Rhys. That just left the Tea-Boy. "Where's Ianto?"

A sigh escaped Tosh's lips, _‘this isn’t going to be easy.’_ "First there are a few things you need to know about Ianto, but I need you to keep an open mind about what I am about to tell you."

Owen was pretty sure that he wasn’t going to like what she had to say. Letting out a great, put-upon sigh he ran a hand through his hair. "All right, lay it on me Tosh."

She’d been rehearsing what she’d say to Owen and how she’d say it, but she couldn’t stop herself; "Ianto's pregnant and Jack's the father!" Tosh blurted out. She wasn't sure how one broke the news that their male colleague was pregnant to someone.

For a moment Owen could only stare at Tosh as he tried to process what she had just said and the little voice in his head whinged, “This would be easier if I had a drink,” but he resolutely ignored it. When he did finally find his voice he found himself erupting in pure anger. "I'm going to kill him! I'm going to hunt him down and kill him and drag his arse back here and then I’m gonna kill him again!" Owen bellowed. He was seething with rage; he had done some low things in his time, but _nothing_ compared to what Jack had just done to Ianto.

Ianto, who had been listening in the shadows, was touched by Owen's unexpected need to protect him. Stepping out into the light, he said quietly, "He's gone, Owen, there’s no point in getting upset. All I can do is move on, because my child and I deserve better than this." A wave of Ianto’s hand encompassed all that was Torchwood.

"Damn straight you do and we're going to make sure you and that little one you're carrying are going to be safe and cared for no matter where we end up," Owen declared. Tosh had told him the basic details of Jack’s plan for them over the phone earlier.

Ianto and Tosh shared a look before Tosh reached out and placed a comforting hand on Ianto's arm, then she turned her gaze back to Owen, "Owen, the back-up plans that Jack made don't include Ian..." Tosh wasn't surprised when she was cut off by a string of rather impressive curses and when Owen was finished, she added, "So Ianto will be going to SHIELD instead."

Owen let out a long whistle; SHIELD was pretty damn impressive, they were the only ones he knew that could make UNIT quiver in their boots. After all Nick Fury was not a man you wanted as an enemy, not if he was smart, that is. "Damn, Tea-Boy, you do have some connections! Still, I’m the one in charge right now so get your skinny arse down into my medical bay; it's time for me to give you a full check-up," Owen ordered slipping easily into doctor mode.

Ianto knew better than to argue against Owen when he was like this, plus he really want to make sure that his little one was okay. "All right, Owen," he said amiably as he started across the floor.

Owen stared at Ianto with his mouth hanging open; that was the first time he could remember that Ianto didn't fight a medical order. "You really want that kid, don't you?" Owen asked softly, clearly impressed. He knew that Ianto would make a great father because after all, he took care of them there was no doubt that he would make a good one.

A soft, almost fond smile that Owen had never seen the entire time that the younger man had worked for Torchwood appeared on Ianto's face. "I really do, Owen. Torchwood has brought nothing but death and misery to my life and this little one is the first good thing that Torchwood has ever given me and I want this child to be safe."

Owen would forever deny that he had experienced a tender moment as he placed his hand on Ianto's shoulder and made the unusually passionate promise, "And you’ll both be safe; I promise you that we'll do whatever it takes to help you out as well. This little one will grow up loved and protected not only by you but also by the rest of us."

Tosh felt her throat close up as a wave of emotion swept over her. _This_ was the Owen Harper that she had fallen in love with and while she wished that Owen acted like this more often, she knew it was too late to make any difference; she had decided to move on. However, she was glad that Owen was acting like a friend around Ianto; he needed the calming non-jerk Owen right now. She found herself wishing that Owen could have shown that side to her a little more; if he had things might have been very different for them both.

_'No, now is not the time for what-if's. I'll be starting a new life soon and it's time I find someone who will love me for me.'_ Tosh was determined to stick to her guns no matter how much it hurt to give up her dream of building a life with Owen. "Come on Ianto, let's get you checked out and then after we've made sure that you've gotten some proper food in you it's off to bed," Tosh declared in a decisive tone as she snatched Ianto by the arm and led him towards Owen's medical bay.

Seeing Tosh taking charge of the situation left the bemused doctor with nothing left to do but follow along behind them shaking his head in disbelief of the unexpected change in Tosh. _‘I kinda like bossy-Tosh!’_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Ianto wouldn't admit that he was nervous but he was on pins and needles as he watched Owen read over the test results. After sitting through a blood draw, an EKG, a sonogram and what felt like endless poking and prodding, Ianto was more than ready to find out as much as he could about his unborn offspring. While the most important question was about the baby’s health, there was a part of his brain that kept debating one thing: _‘Do I want to know the sex or do I want to be surprised?’_ There were pros and cons for each option and naturally, Ianto had made an orderly mental list for consideration.

"Well, Tea-Boy, you are indeed pregnant," Owen grinned broadly as he finally informed Ianto after he’d checked and doubled-checked everything just to make sure he wasn't mistaken. He didn’t have to be a man of medicine to figure out that this kid already meant everything and then some to Ianto and that made the normally cynical, snarky medic pretty pleased. _‘It’s about time he had something good in his life,’_ Owen reflected happily.

‘It’s true! I’m going to have a baby!’ Ianto's hands flew to his stomach and the smile that graced his face was brighter than anything Owen or Tosh had seen before.

The look of pure joy shining from Ianto’s eyes confirmed Owen’s earlier thoughts that the miracle of pregnancy was probably the best thing that had ever happened to the Tea-Boy.

As for Toshiko, tears suddenly spilled down her cheeks. _‘Oh Ianto, this is wonderful news!’_ but as usually happened in the tech genius’ far-too-logical thoughts, the flipside of the coin reared its ugly head. _‘How I wish Jack was here to share in all this.’_ It was a sobering thought but Tosh managed to keep the smile on her face as she stepped forward and enveloped Ianto in a tight hug.

Ianto felt happier than he had been for the longest time and he vowed that he would do everything in his power to protect the child growing within him. "Thank you for confirming this, Owen, but if you'll both excuse me I have a phone call to make." Ianto had the proof he’d been waiting for so it was time to stop thinking and start acting.

Dying to ask who Ianto was going to call, although she had a strong suspicion it was someone within SHIELD, Tosh and Owen watched as Ianto left the medical bay his expression one of determination. "So how long do you think it will be before he's gone for good?" Owen refused to admit the truth out loud even to Tosh, but he was really going to miss Ianto and not just because _‘he make the best damn cup of coffee on the planet.’_

Slowly Tosh shook her head, she didn't want to think about it but she knew that time was coming fast. "This is Ianto, he'll be ready to go in no time at all, and he’s the one who keeps us organized after all."

Owen couldn't contain his snort or his snarky comments. "Ianto is also the one who stages the crime scenes, administers the Retcon and plants the false memories. Trust me, it won't take him long to figure out a way to make to himself disappear completely off the grid." Owen would never say it out loud but he had always been impressed with the ingenuity and inner strength that allowed Ianto to stage the most horrific crime scenes imaginable in order to conceal a traumatic death caused by a Weevil or a Hoix or any other creature or alien artefact that fell from the Rift. With a mental nod towards the Welshman’s dedication, Owen also acknowledged the immense tact Ianto required when dealing with distraught families was in many ways so much harder than anything the rest of them did.

Abruptly, Owen’s mind spun off on a different tangent. "Plus, we both know that while Harold Saxon could care less about us or our fate, Ianto is a completely different story. If he wants to run as far away as he can get I have no doubt that Saxon would gladly help Ianto any way he could. Hell I’d even bet that if Ianto decided to kill us Saxon would help the Tea-Boy hide our bodies.” Owen was convinced that the feelings the Minister of Defence had towards Ianto were much more than friendly or professional and the way that Jack would start acting like a caveman whenever Saxon asked to talk to Ianto was proof that Jack felt the same.

Tosh knew that Owen had a valid point. On more than one occasion she’d seen the green-eyed monster better known as jealousy rear its ugly head and stomp around the Hub disguised as Jack Harkness. She’d also seen the look of amused affection in Ianto’s eyes as they followed Jack’s movements and listened with one ear to the immortal’s ranting. Finally, Tosh observed, one would have to be blind to miss the protective way in which Saxon looked after Ianto. Owen was right; given the Minister’s power and connections, if Ianto wanted to disappear there was nothing that the man wouldn’t do to help Ianto to wipe out all trace of himself and then Ianto Jones would be untraceable.

Needing as much privacy as he could get Ianto made his way to Jack's office, closing the door behind him. He knew that Tosh and Owen would give him all the space he needed but this was a call that he didn’t want anyone to overhear. Taking a deep breath Ianto fiddled with his phone for a moment, thumbing his way through various screens while he ordered his thoughts. For a reason he couldn't name he had a strong urge to call Harold Saxon, the man always seemed to make everything better.

Since the moment they’d met during the cleanup of Torchwood One, Ianto had been impressed with Harold Saxon. He had shown the survivors and the victims the tenderness and care they had deserved, and he had said nothing as he held Ianto while the young archivist grieved for all he had lost that day. No one, not even Jack, knew that after Lisa’s final death, Ianto had completely broken down and had told Harold everything about her and what had happened to them both during the Battle at Canary Wharf. The man had listened quietly and without condemnation, and when Ianto had finished crying, he’d offered him nothing but comfort and compassion.

In the end, Saxon had promised him that there would always be a place for Ianto with him either in his administration or should he return to private life, with whatever professional endeavour he was involved with. Ianto had been truly touched and more than once, especially after their misadventures in the Brecon Beacons countryside, Ianto had been so very tempted to take him up on his offer. It was only the tenuous relationship that he and Jack shared that prevented Ianto from leaving Torchwood.

_'No, if this pans out I won’t need his help and if it doesn't then at least I’ll have a back-up plan.'_ With a firm mental shake, Ianto opened the contacts list on his mobile and located one specific private number. He already had a plan in mind and it would be the one he would follow for now, but Ianto Jones was a careful, thorough man and it never hurt to have a backup plan just in case everything fell apart.

Only a select few had Phil Coulson's cell phone number, the one he kept off of his official SHIELD records, though that didn't stop Tony from finding it, and no matter how many times he blocked his calls Tony still called to complain about the smallest of things.

Before he was SHIELD’s number one super-agent Phil Coulson had been given the charge of raising one of the last Time Lord children to ever be born. As much as he disliked his people and had pulled away from them, there were a few he still cared for enough to give his contact info to and the name flashing on the display was on the top of that list. If this person was calling him then Phil had good reason to be worried; he knew the young man would only be calling him on his private line in a time of desperation. "Ianto, what's wrong?" he asked softly as he moved away from his rather nosy charges.

A shuddering breath came over the line and Phil’s heart skipped a beat; something was definitely wrong. "I need your help. I don't know who else to turn to." Ianto's voice came out in a small whisper.

Phil's heart clenched, his tone reminded him of Ianto when he was just a small scared little boy who had been put into his care and who desperately needed to be held and comforted. "I'm here son, tell me what's wrong?"

"I'm pregnant and the other father is gone and I know he's not coming back,” Ianto whispered sadly. “He found his Doctor," and this time Phil heard the tears that Ianto was fighting to hold back.

Phil closed his eyes as he felt his heart go out to Ianto. The few times he had managed to convince Ianto to talk about his relationship with Jack, he’d gotten the distinct impression that Ianto felt he was nothing but a temporary distraction for Jack and now that had been proven true. "I'm so sorry Ianto, what do you need? You know I will do whatever I can to help you."

"UNIT has found out that Jack’s gone and it's only a matter of time before they come to take over and I can't let them get their hands on my child." There was fear in Ianto's voice and Phil knew things in Cardiff had to be bad if Ianto was allowing himself to be vulnerable.

"Ianto, there's more isn't there?" Phil asked gently; he knew Ianto better than any other person on Earth and it would be just like Ianto to keep something back as to not be a burden or get someone else in trouble.

There was a shuddering breath over the line and Phil tightened his grip on his cell phone as all his protective instincts screamed at him to hurt whoever hurt Ianto. “It’s all right son, whatever it is we’ll get through it together, I promise.”

This time Ianto didn’t even try to hide his pain as he said, "Jack made a backup plan for just such a threat for the other three."

Every inch of Phil was screaming at him to get out into the field and hunt down Jack Harkness and destroy the man. It took a lot of willpower to push those feelings to the back of his mind, at least temporarily. _'No, that won’t do Ianto any good.'_ Drawing a deep breath Phil uttered the very words that he knew Ianto desperately needed to hear: "You will always have a place here with us, Ianto, you don't even need to ask," he reassured his adopted son.

This time Phil definitely heard a choked sob as Ianto whispered softly, "Thank you, I'll start making the arrangements and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Ianto, you never have to thank me, ever. I would do anything for you, just remember that." Phil loved Ianto like a son and even though Ianto was a grown man, he would do everything in his power to make his boy happy.

"It's just been so long since anyone has actually cared about me," Ianto whispered in a small voice and Phil could hear the child he’d raised calling out to him. He also knew full well what he was talking about; it had taken a while to get Ianto to open up about how Torchwood Three had been treating him and the stories hadn't been pretty.

"Well that’s all going to change, I promise you." Phil couldn’t wait until he could start making things better for Ianto.

"I know,” and pure gratitude dripped from those two little words.

“How soon will you get here?” Phil was already making plans.

“It shouldn’t be too long now. I’ll contact you again when I have things set up," Ianto promised and as much as Phil didn't want to he knew he had to let Ianto go.

"All right son, I'll talk to you soon.” Phil snapped his cell phone closed and walked back into the briefing room. “That was Ianto; he’s coming to work for SHIELD,” he casually announced. He knew that at least three of the people seated around the large table had heard him mention Ianto’s name before he went out into the hall to talk and been hanging off of his every word since then.

Both Natasha and Clint sat up a little straighter in their chairs. “Ianto’s coming here? Is he alright?” Natasha’s brisk demand surprised everyone. There were only a few people she truly cared about with Pepper at the top of that list followed by Phil and Clint and against her will Tony was slowly adding himself to that list.

Clint looked more than a little eager to hear what Phil had to say while Tony simply looked confused by the upsurge in emotion around him. Pepper however happened to be looking directly at Tony so she was the only one to see a flash of jealousy in his eyes before he hid it firmly behind his normal mask of cockiness.

Phil shook his head slowly. He knew how close Ianto was to both Natasha and Clint – well maybe a little closer to Clint, although Phil couldn't help but wonder if things would finally change between Ianto and Clint once they were around each other again. "I'm afraid he's not doing too well at the moment, but until I know everything there is not much I can tell you.” No one could miss the protective tone in Phil’s voice. “I would appreciate it if you would all refrain from speculating until we have more to go on.” He looked around at his team and one by one they all nodded in agreement.

“So who’s Ianto and just why are you all being so protective over him?” Tony was pleased that he sounded just a little curious, as though the answer wasn’t important. He wasn’t jealous – no, really, he wasn’t – over the fact that Phil seemed to have someone special hidden away, someone he’d never mentioned before, someone he clearly cared a great deal for and shared a history with. So, yeah, while a lesser man might have been jealous or even have pouted over the fact that Phil had kept a secret from him, Tony was just fine with it. Really.

“Ianto is… special; he was entrusted to me by his father, who was a very old friend of mine. There are reasons why that I can’t tell you why his biological parents couldn’t raise Ianto, but believe me when I say that Ianto is one of a kind,” Phil explained, telling them what little he felt safe revealing and wondering how he could explain that Ianto was pregnant.

Natasha's eyes narrowed with suspicion; there was something about Phil’s manner that shouted evasion. "You're not telling us everything,” she barked out the accusation as her protective instincts took over. “Is Ianto hurt?"

Phil knew that tone all too well and he was sorely tempted to let her track down Jack Harkness and teach the man a lesson he would never forget but quickly killed that thought. As good as Natasha was there just was no way she’d be able to track down someone travelling in time and space. "Physically hurt, no but he is heartbroken; his lover has abandoned him and UNIT is posed to take control of Torchwood Three within days, maybe less."

Natasha growled, actually growled and Clint and Tony both wisely took a step or two back, away from the woman. "I'm going to kill whoever hurt Ianto!" Everyone knew that was not an empty threat but an absolute promise.

"If you feel that way now then it would be best to wait until Ianto arrives to tell you the rest. I need to make arrangements for Ianto." Phil respected Ianto's privacy and he would only tell them about his pregnancy when Ianto said it was okay; for now he needed to focus on finding Ianto a place to live, specifically one with a landlord that wouldn't ask to many questions.

"He can stay here," Tony offered and all eyes turned to him in disbelief. "What? If this guy needs a place to hide then there’s no place better or safer than here, especially since you all seemed to have made your home here as well." Tony made a face. He knew that Natasha had practically moved in since she and Pepper had started their relationship and where Natasha went there was Clint and Phil, although he had to admit that Phil had no choice in the matter; as the trio’s handler he had to stay in Tony's home and if Phil's room was quite close to Tony's… well that was just fate. So it only stood to reason that if Phil's adopted son stayed with him then it would only give Phil more of an opportunity to hang around. Tony grinned to himself, _‘I don’t see a problem with that.’_

Natasha, Pepper and Clint each gave Tony a knowing look; his crush on Phil wasn't exactly a secret, even if the subject of the crush didn't realise that he was being crushed on. The women exchanged a bemused glance that clearly said “Men!”

A thoughtful look appeared on Phil's face as he thought over Tony's offer; Tony's home would definitely provide the privacy Ianto was going to need. There was simply no way to absolutely guarantee that his condition would remain unknown to the outside world, but staying in the Tower would be the next best thing. Decision made, Phil looked at Tony and nodded his head. "That's actually a good idea, Stark; I'll tell Ianto about your generous offer and see what he thinks."

Tony ignored the way his heart sped up at the small smile Phil sent his way. Always practical though, Tony had one minor concern, "Right, just one question, can he make coffee?"

Tony and Pepper had no idea why that question made Clint and Natasha burst out in laughter or why Phil actually smiled.

After hanging up with his adopted father, Ianto wasted no time in making his next call. In some ways it was easier to make, but in others, it was more difficult.

“Ianto, what’s wrong?” Harold Saxon’s concern was evident the minute he heard Ianto’s voice come across the line. He was alert and full of worry for Ianto; the young man had never called him so late in the evening before.

“I’m sorry if I disturbed you, sir.” Ianto only realised now just how late it was, the Minister should have been on his way home.

“Ianto, you know that I am always here for you whenever you need a friend." Harold's voice took on the soothing tone that he’d discovered Ianto responded to so well.

Ianto found himself automatically relaxing as Saxon’s words flowed over him. "I know that, sir, and I'm very grateful to have your friendship. I… um… have a favour to ask you..." Ianto trailed off, he didn't know how to voice his question. _‘I should have thought this through before I called. Twpsyn!’_ He immediately gave his belly a gentle rub; _‘Sorry, baben, your daddy isn’t really an idiot, not all the time anyway.’_

"Ianto, have you found somewhere safe to be when UNIT comes to take control of Torchwood Three?" Saxon couldn’t care less about the fate of Torchwood’s Cardiff outpost or its other three members; all that mattered to him was that Ianto would be safely tucked away far from UNIT’s influence.

"Yes, sir, I have. As you know my adopted father is an agent of SHIELD and he wants me to come there; they can protect me from UNIT," Ianto explained.

Relief filled Harold, he knew Phil Coulson just as he knew that the man would do anything to keep Ianto safe and protected and far, far away from Captain Jack Harkness. "I do remember and that's very good news. I want you safe and sound, you're very important to me, Ianto." Harold wished he could tell Ianto exactly how important he was, but for now it was better if he didn't know the real truth of their relationship.

A wave of warmth washed over Ianto, relaxing and calming him, and he found himself smiling into the phone, his hand coming to rest on his flat stomach. "You're very important to me as well, I've come to see you as a father figure and I'm closer to you than to any of my teammates. Even Jack doesn't know as much about me as you do," Ianto admitted in a soft voice. He could never understand why he was so drawn to the other man or how easily and willingly he had opened up about his past.

Warmth spread through Harold as well as a genuine smile spread across his face; that was just what he wanted because Ianto would always be his main concern. He would do everything in his power to keep him safe. "I glad to hear that, I see you as my son, Ianto, and all I want is for you to be happy and I think you’ll be happy with SHIELD. If I’m not mistaken you had a rather big crush on one of Agent Coulson’s charges?” Harold teased, he had made it his duty to check out anyone Ianto might be romantically interested in and he liked Clint Barton with Ianto far more than Jack Harkness.

Ianto was grateful that no one could see the blush staining his cheeks; yes, he did have a crush on Clint Barton, something that he’d told Harold about when he had been at one of his lowest points after Lisa’s death when he’d been seriously considering returning to SHIELD. Harold had asked questions about the people whom Ianto obviously cared about and Clint had come up more than once. “Agent Barton has always been a good friend and if that’s all it’s ever going to be between the two of us then I am okay with that.” Besides, right now he had something far more important to look after.

“Ianto, you shouldn’t shy away from love,” Harold scolded gently. “I want you to promise me that if you get the chance to be truly happy you will take it.” He only wanted one thing from the wretched planet he was stuck on and that was for Ianto to be happy.

“I’ll try, sir.” That was the best Ianto could do for now. He and his heart needed to truly heal from the double loss of losing Lisa and being abandoned by Jack while at the same time preparing to be a single father. With all that on his place, falling in love again just wasn’t at the top of his list.

“Good, now tell me, Ianto, what is it you need to start your new life?” Harold knew that from what he had seen of Ianto’s personal timeline that he would find happiness in this life and he was determined to do everything in his power to make sure it happened, even if that meant breaking his heart first.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Always superbly organised and at the moment, extremely motivated, it took only two days for Ianto to arrange everything necessary to start his new life. Tosh was both impressed and a little sad as she watched Ianto hand his gun and badge to Owen; Gwen had said her good-byes earlier and had gone for the night so it was just the three of them.

Tosh clung to Ianto as they exchanged finally good-byes because something told her that this would be the last time that they saw each other. “You take care of yourself Ianto and Myfanwy,” she told him with a catch in her voice. She didn’t know how Ianto had managed to arrange for SHEILD to transport his beloved pet dinosaur but she was glad that Myfanwy would be safely out of UNIT’s reach. She was sure that UNIT scientists would have dissected the prehistoric creature within hours of her arrival in their grasp.

“I will Tosh, and I’ll keep in touch with you as best I can. I want this little one to know his or her Aunt Tosh and Uncle Owen.” Ianto felt a little misty-eyed as he clung to Tosh just as tightly as she was clinging to him.

Tosh pulled back and made no attempt to hide the tears falling freely down her cheeks. "You bet we’ll be keeping in touch! You're not getting rid of us this easily," she growled out in warning. The technical genius regretted not getting to know Ianto sooner and that now, when he needed friends the most, they were being separated; she was determined not to let Ianto slip away from them.

"I will I promise." Ianto didn't want to lose either of Tosh or Owen, especially when he was so physically and emotionally vulnerable, but common sense and his inner voice told him that this was for the best.

Owen gave Ianto a manly clap on the shoulder. "I want constant updates on how this little one is doing and we'll work something out for monitoring your health and status once we've gotten to Stargate Command. I'm sure Mr Saxon would be willing to give us a hand with that, yeah? You know, considering who close you two are and all."

Ianto shook his head with amusement; he wasn't rising to the bait; he knew that Owen’s comments had been said in a teasing tone. Since learning of his pregnancy Owen had mellowed out towards his Tea-Boy and Ianto had to admit that he was actually going to miss this new Owen, even if he did like to rag on him claiming that Harold Saxon might as well be his sugar-daddy the way he was caring for him.

With a grin, Ianto shook Owen’s hand. "I'm sure that something could be arranged, SHIELD would be more than happy to help out."

It was harder than Ianto had thought it would be to walk away from Tosh and Owen, from Cardiff and the life he’d built there, and surprisingly enough, he felt oddly sad that he was leaving Torchwood itself, after all he’d been through but he had no choice, he had to go. He had his child to think of and that was the most important thing in the world to Ianto.

Toshiko had remained upbeat and cheerful right up to the moment when the large cog door had rolled shut behind Ianto and then her careful control was swept by a tsunami of emotion. In a surprising gesture, Owen wrapped a comforting arm around Tosh’s shoulders as her small body shook with sobs. “Hey, common on, he’ll be fine! This is better for him and that little one he’s carrying cos we couldn’t keep him from UNIT if word got out, not with just the three of us now. There’s no way that he would be safe at Stargate Command either, not with the kind of dangers they find and fight. No, he’s right, SHIELD is the best place for him plus we can still visit him.” Owen found himself rather liking offering words of comfort to a distraught Tosh.

Tosh gave a sniffle her eyes shining with tears, “I know but I’m going to miss Ianto.”

Owen couldn’t say it out loud, not if he wanted to keep his snarky medic persona intact, but he was going to miss Ianto as well.

“Ianto, I’m so glad that I caught you before you left.” Harold Saxon’s voice was a welcomed one as Ianto exited from the plane. He had arrived early enough to make sure that Myfanwy was still sleeping soundly as SHIELD technicians carefully loaded her into the plane through the massive rear cargo bay door. It was vitally important that she not awaken until they arrived on the Helicarrier which was based in New York.

Ianto wore a broad, happy smile on his face as he greeted the older man. “I was hoping to see you before I left! I can’t thank you enough for all your help.” He was truly touched that Saxon would take time from his busy schedule to say good-bye in person.

Saxon favoured Ianto with a soft smile. “There is no need to thank me, Ianto; I was just doing what any friend would do. I won’t keep you long, I’m sure you want to get going before that beauty of yours sleeps off her sedative.” He needed to make absolutely sure that Ianto was safely on his way out of Cardiff before UNIT got wind of his departure. He hadn’t told Ianto for fear of upsetting him, but he’d heard a rumour from a very reliable source that UNIT was going to ‘insist’ that Ianto Jones worked for them, voluntarily or not, once they’d assumed jurisdiction over the Hub. As head archivist for Torchwood, no one else was as well acquainted with what the files, Archives and storage areas contained than Ianto Jones. Therefore, given UNIT’s twisted view of the world, he was basically considered part of the furniture, so to speak.

Knowing Nick Fury personally and many other members by reputation, Saxon was confident that there was no place safer for Ianto to be than with SHIELD. “Do keep in touch; I want to know how you are doing over there.” He looked deeply into Ianto’s eyes, remembering the first day they’d met and how far the younger man had come in the ensuing passage of time.

Ianto gave a soft nod. “I will, I promise.” The Welshman knew that it was going to be much easier to keep in contact with Harold Saxon than with Tosh and Owen once they joined Stargate Command and unexpectedly, Ianto realised that he was okay with that.

Ianto surprised not only Saxon but himself as he hugged the other man briefly; he would later put it off to his hormones but something within him just longed to hug the man who’d been such an important part of his life for so long. What Ianto couldn’t see was Saxon’s face resting on his shoulder and the look of sheer longing and joy shining in his eyes as his own arms came up and wrapped around Ianto returning the hug.

The hug lasted for a few moments longer before Ianto knew that he had to let go and get on the transport; he and Owen had timed Myfanwy’s sedative so that it would keep her under long enough to get her onto the Helicarrier. Ianto forced himself to break the hug. “I really need to be going, Sir,” Ianto told him with a sad smile.

“I understand Ianto, please give me a quick call, even if you just leave a message and let me know you’ve arrived safely and then I’ll looking forward to hearing from you every new and again once you’ve gotten settled. Don’t make me come looking for you,” Harold warned with a twinkle in his eye as he let Ianto go.

Ianto gave a sharp nod, “Yes, Sir!” Turning on his heel Ianto made his way back up the ramp, steeling himself to not look back as he walked away from Torchwood and into a new life.

“This is all for the best; now you’ll get the happiness you’ve deserved all along, my dear boy, and I won’t let anything get in the way of that,” Harold vowed as he watched Ianto go. There was a cold and protective glint in his eyes as he silently swore that he would destroy anyone who harmed his precious boy and his future grandchild. Saxon remained standing on the tarmac long after Ianto’s transport plane had vanished from sight.

It seemed like forever but yet not nearly long enough before a young staff member from SHIELD’s home office was gently shaking Ianto awake and informing him that they would be landing soon. Ianto hadn’t realised he’d fallen asleep and he yawned deeply, stretching and twisting to relieve the stiffness brought on by getting up much earlier than normal plus an eight-hour flight in the C-130 cargo plane. With a groan he stood up and paced the length of the passenger compartment, noticing that his legs were twitching with nervousness.

Glancing around to see if anyone was looking at him, Ianto gently rubbed his stomach and whispered, "Soon we’ll be in our new home, baban. I just hope that they react well to us." Ianto knew he had the support of Phil, Nick, Natasha and Clint (Ianto refused to admit that his heart skipped a little at the last name) but it was the two newcomers, Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, that Ianto wasn't sure how to react around. Even though his father had said nothing either way, Ianto could sense that there was something different about the way Phil felt for Tony, something above the usual annoyance her supposedly felt for everyone he worked with. Ianto would even go so far as to swear that there was a tone of true fondness that he didn’t hear when his father spoke about Natasha or Clint.

Regardless, these people were all very important to Phil and above all else, Ianto wanted to make a good impression on them. Straightening his shoulders, Ianto slipped into the cavernous cargo bay to check on Myfanwy, hoping that she was still sound asleep. Thanks to Owen’s meticulous calculations, the mighty flying creature hadn’t moved a muscle. He reached out and rubbed her head; “You’ve gonna love your new home, old girl. We both… all three of us will I promise.”

The same staffer poked their head into the bay; “If you’ll please take your seat, Mr Jones, we’ll be on the ground in about eight minutes.” Ianto was quite impressed that the man didn’t even blink an eye when he saw Myfanwy.

Tony Stark would be the first to admit that he could be rather possessive and protective over those he cared about but no matter what Pepper claimed he was most certainly _not_ jealous of the way Agent Phil Coulson's eyes light up with joy whenever he spoke of this mysterious Ianto Jones. Well, technically he wasn’t so mysterious anymore; as soon as Tony had a name he’d done some digging and once he knew Ianto’s life story, he’d felt an unusually strong urge to protect the young man himself. After surviving parental abandonment, although Phil had been a superb stepfather, as well as near death at the hands of the Daleks and Cybermen, plus being brutally tenderised by a village of psychotic in-breds, Tony could understand that Ianto would have scars, emotional as well as physical ones. Still, it didn't mean that Tony liked the young man for putting such looks into _his_ agent's eyes.

"You're pouting again, Tony," Pepper pointed out as she entered the room and saw the sour look on his face.

"I am not pouting!" Without realising that he’d just stuck out his lower lip belligerently, Tony crossed his arms over his chest and refused to acknowledge that Pepper was right.

Natasha and Clint entered the room and the other redhead took one look at Tony's childish expression and raised her eyebrow. "Why is Stark pouting?" she asked.

Tony's left eye twitched. "I am _not_ pouting!" He winced when he heard the slightly shrill definitely whiney tone to his protestation.

“Let’s see,” Clint gave him an amused smile. "Lower lip stuck out about three inches, arms crossed over your chest, a girlie whinge to your voice… Sure looks like pouting to me. Aww… is someone a little jealous that he might not be Coulson's favourite anymore?" Clint teased.

"Who’s not my favourite anymore?" Phil entered the room and caught the tail end of Clint's statement although one look at Tony and he had to bite the inside of his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. "Oh, yes, I see… well… it’s a good look on you, Tony. Anyway… I just got word from the flight deck, Ianto should be arriving any minute, so would any of you like to join me up top?"

Only Phil and Natasha noticed the way that Clint's eyes lit up with excitement at the mention of Ianto; they unknowingly held the same hope that maybe the two men would finally get their acts together and do something about their mutual attraction. It all depended on how much hurt Ianto had to heal from.

Tony leapt up from his chair, "Well let's get going then! I want to meet the man that’s got you all acting like giddy little schoolgirls.” Against his will, his excitement overruled his slight jealousy.

Ianto had to admit that he was glad when they finally landed, he wasn't sure his stomach could handle the mild turbulence much longer. As he stepped off the transport Ianto took a long, deep breath in through his nose and blew it out through his mouth and then repeated it twice more; the fresh air definitely helped sooth his upset stomach. Movement to his left caught his attention and when he turned a bright smile blossomed on his face as he took in the sight of his family all standing there, waiting just for him.

Phil was the first to move towards Ianto. "Welcome home, son," he greeted with a bright smile; only Natasha heard the husky tone of his voice.

Ianto’s throat closed as strong emotions he hadn’t felt in a very long time swept over him. "It's good to be home," he whispered as he stepped into his stepfather’s welcoming embrace.

Tony felt a strong sense of jealousy fill him as he watched Phil hugging the new arrival tightly; sure, he knew the Ianto was his son, it didn't mean he had to like the situation one little bit.

For several minutes Ianto and Phil just clung to one another before separating; they’d been apart far too long. The next to greet him was Fury.

"It's good to see you again, Ianto. How are you doing?" Nick Fury greeted his godson warmly; it had been far too long since his extended family had been together. Like Phil, he was a little overprotective where Ianto was concerned and as he saw the poorly hidden sadness in the man’s eyes, Nick decided that he was going to have a long ‘talk’ with Jack Harkness when he managed to track him down.

"Much better now that I’m here." Ianto favoured his godfather with a soft smile.

"Hey kid!" Natasha wrapped her arms around Ianto in a quick hug. “’Bout time you came home!”

"Hey Natasha," Ianto returned her hug, he was happy to see the woman he loved like a big sister again.

"Take it easy on Clint; he's already slipping into protective buddy mode," Natasha whispered into Ianto's ear. In the beginning, when she’d been convinced by Clint to give SHIELD a chance, he had been the only person she’d trusted but she had slowly warmed up to Phil and then there was Ianto. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but there was just something about him that had snuck past her defences and she soon found herself caring deeply for Ianto; he became the little brother she’d never had.

Her friendship with him also gave her a front row seat for the epic story of unrequited love going on between Clint and Ianto. They both had feelings for one another but were convinced that their feelings were on their side and their side only, so neither man had was brave or foolhardy enough to take the first step toward true romance. Misunderstandings aside, no one could deny that Clint had developed a strong protective streak over Ianto and Natasha was going to make sure that these two fools finally acted on their feelings, even if she had to knock some sense into them herself.

Ianto felt his face heat up and his eyes flickered over to where Clint was standing and watching him with his usual protective gaze and he felt his heart skip a beat. An intense urge to go over and throw his arms around the other man engulfed Ianto and he had to exercise some severe self-control to remain where he was because he knew that whatever might have happened between him and Clint wasn't meant to be, not when he was carrying another man's child.

Natasha pulled away from Ianto and turned to give Clint a stern look that screamed 'get your happy ass over here, NOW!'.

Off to the side and watching everything with an eagle eye, Tony's eyebrow rose with amused surprise as he read the body language between Clint and Ianto. His eyes widened as a knowing look entered them and a smirk curled at his lips. _'Well it looks like I don't have worry about this newcomer taking all of Phil's time after all. Not that I care, because I don’t, not at all.'_

Clint took a step forward towards Ianto and stretched out his hand in greeting. "Hey, Yan."

There were only a select few people that Ianto would ever allow to call him that nickname and one of them was Clint. "Hey, Clint, it's good to see you." Ianto to his horror found himself feeling shy and things only got worse when a bright blush coloured his cheeks.

Clint had always adored Ianto's shy nature and he couldn't stop himself from pulling the younger man into a hug; it felt so right to have the younger man there in his arms, safe and sound. Then, surprising them both, Ianto melted into his arms as if he never wanted to be anywhere else ever again. "Welcome home, Yan," Clint whispered into Ianto's ear. _‘I’ve missed you so much.’_

"It's good to be home," Ianto admitted; _‘I could stay this way forever.’_ This was what he’d been missing in Cardiff; as much as he had come to care for the others at Torchwood they would never be _home._ This, right here, was his home, his family.

Clint would have been happy to let this moment last forever, but quiet was suddenly pierced by the sound of loud, very indignant squawking coming from inside the transport.    

Ianto's face lit up with a bright happy smile that did all kinds of things to Clint, making him feel warm and burning jealousy of just who could put such a look on Ianto's face.

"I almost forgot about Myfanwy. Poor thing’s been cooped up in there for hours." Ianto couldn't believe how he had forgotten all about his beloved Myfanwy and it was only because of her that he found the strength to pull himself free from Clint's warmth.

Phil’s lips twitched up into a smile, Ianto had emailed photos of Myfanwy to him over an encrypted line and after seeing how beautiful she was for himself, he knew the others were in for the surprise of their lives. _'Stark and Barton are going to be nothing but big kids when it comes to having a pet dinosaur.'_ It was a good thing that the Helicarrier had a room big enough to hold the Hulk; it was the perfect place for her.

Ianto turned to look at them all. "Do you want to meet her?" he asked his eyes glowing with childlike glee.

Before anyone could answer there was a loud clatter and then to everyone's amazement, a real live dinosaur came waddling out of the transport and down the ramp. Myfanwy paused and looked around at everyone for a moment and as soon as she spotted her human she set off at an ungainly pace across the Helicarrier’s deck as quickly as she could. Everyone she passed would later swear that she sounded like she was mumbling to herself.

Ianto beamed happily as he moved towards his beloved pet and put his arms around her neck. “How do you feel?” he asked as he stepped back to take a good look at her; he couldn’t see any signs that she’d suffered at all during her flight but nevertheless, I did have to apologise for letting Owen poke her in the arse with his syringe full of sedatives, so Ianto pulled out the bar of premium dark chocolate he had stashed away just for her.

"That's a dinosaur." Tony pointed out; he was a little embarrassed to find that his mouth was hanging open until he looked around and saw that everyone else’s was too.

Ianto beamed as he scratched Myfanwy's beak. "Her name’s Myfanwy. So can she stay?" he asked eagerly, already having a pretty guess at what the answer was going to be.

"You brought us a pet dinosaur and you think you have to ask? Of course she can stay!" Tony declared instantly. He wondered if Ianto would let him study her, he wouldn't hurt her, but come on, a real dinosaur? Who could pass up an opportunity like that?

Pepper and Natasha rolled their eyes as Tony and Clint looked like children on Christmas morning; put them in footie pyjamas and could easily pass as six-year-olds just waiting to tear into their presents. "It would be kind of cool to have a pet dinosaur," Pepper had to admit softly.

"It might keep them out of trouble," Natasha added; mentally she added, _‘Of course the way Clint_ _keeps_ _stealing glances at Ianto there might be something else that’ll keep him out of trouble.’_

__

It didn't take long for Ianto to get Myfanwy settled in what he had to admit was a rather spacious room and soon after that, Ianto found himself finally being introduced to Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. Ianto took to Pepper right away, sensing another kindred soul who had their hands full with a boss who was often more child than adult and who would rather do anything but his work.

Tony reminded Ianto a little of Tosh, they shared the same sheer, inexplicable genius. He knew that Tosh would have fit in so well with SHIELD; it was a shame she was missing this chance. Tony also reminded Ianto a lot of Jack and he could only blink with barely disguised amusement as he looked between an exasperated Phil and a pouting Tony and felt a smile twitching at his lips; it was clear why Tony was acting like his favourite toy had been taken away from him. "You do know he's jealous, right?" Ianto asked directing his question at his adopted father.

"Finally! Someone else sees it!" Clint cheered as he threw his arms around Ianto and hugged the Welshman close to him. "I've only been saying it for months that Tony's got it bad for our favourite agent. It's been driving us all insane!"

A small smile played on the corners of Natasha's mouth. "You were already insane, Clint, so it's nothing new for you." If she noticed that Clint still had his arms around Ianto she didn’t say anything.

Ianto felt his heart skip a beat as he basked in the warmth pouring off of Clint and how good the man smelt being so close.

Natasha and Pepper shared a knowing glance at the way Clint and Ianto were looking at one another; it really was rather adorable, and it was obvious that they had two set of matches to get together.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, I am not jealous." Tony crossed his arms and turned up his nose at Ianto. He wasn't pouting; just because Phil wouldn't let him play with the dinosaur… it's not like he was going to cause any trouble or anything…

Ianto let the light-heartedness of the moment wash over him, soothing him and warming the cold places deep inside his soul. Ianto was happier than he’d been in many months, but he knew that he would soon have to tell them the truth about himself and his precious child growing in his stomach.

Two hours later, after seeing to Myfanwy’s first meal in her new home, Ianto had showered and changed into fresh clothes and had joined the others in the Helicarrier’s board room. "Nobody is going to force you into answering questions you don't want to but just remember, we care about you, Ianto and all we want is your happiness," Clint whispered from his seat next to Ianto. He reached out and placed his hand over Ianto’s, giving him a slight squeeze before pulling his hand back again.

Ianto flashed him a sweet smile, grateful for his support. "I know but this is something that I _need_ to tell you, it's very important. I just hope you don't see me as a freak," Ianto admitted in a soft voice, a very real sense of fear lacing his words.

Feeling bold Clint reached out and took Ianto's hand in his, and this time he held on, thrilled that Ianto made no attempt to pull away from him. "Hey, I will _never_ see you as a freak and neither will anyone else here and they all know that if they do I’ll deal with them personally or worse, I’ll sic Tasha on them," Clint vowed. Nervous laughter accompanied Clint’s last few words; Natasha could be the scariest woman on the planet when she really wanted to.

In his heart, Ianto knew that Clint spoke the truth and he smiled at him warmly. "I believe you and thank you, Clint," and he twisted his hand so that their fingers were entwined.

Phil watched the interaction between Ianto and Clint and he smiled with satisfaction. Ianto's life had always danced between two ways and now it would seem his heart had chosen the path it would follow. Clint was a good man, he clearly adored Ianto, and he was truly happy for his son.

Between them, Ianto and Phil laid out the truth about Ianto, a truth that so far only Nick had known. The only part they left out was the fact that Ianto and Phil were Time Lords and when Phil had accepted the responsibility of raising Ianto, he had locked both of their Time Lord essences away, hidden behind a chameleon arch. Phil knew that he was going to spend his life as a human, and when Ianto was old enough to understand Phil had explained who and what they were to him. He told Ianto that when he was an adult, he could choose to regain his Time Lord essence; so far Ianto hadn't shown any desire to become a Time Lord either.

They’d finally come to the most crucial part of Ianto’s story and Phil paused, letting Ianto take the lead. Drawing in a deep breath and tightening his hold on Clint’s hand, Ianto raised his head and announced, “I’m pregnant, about almost two months along, and no, Jack doesn’t know. I didn’t find out until after he’d gone off with his Doctor.” He steeled himself for the comments that were to come.

It was no surprise that Nick Fury was the first to explode with anger. "You do know that I am going to kill Captain Jack Harkness if I ever see him. No one abandons my godson and most certainly not when he's pregnant with his child!" Fury growled out.

"I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I agree with old one-eye there, so don't worry your pretty head Ianto, you have a new family with us and we look after our own," Tony informed Ianto.

The Welshman blinked as he looked at Tony, a little on the unsure side. "Um, thank you, I think."

Tony pouted sweetly at Phil. "Agent, tell your son we’re nice, we don’t bite unless you want us to and we haven’t pantsed anyone in months, so there's no reason for him to be afraid of us."

Natasha stared at Tony like he’d just grown a second head. "Actually he would be wise to be a little afraid of you like the rest of us; it's just common sense where you’re concerned."

As Tony Stark's lower lip stuck out and his pout grew, Ianto couldn't help but laugh; he was just like Jack and to his surprise, Ianto found that thinking about his missing lover didn't hurt nearly as much as he thought it should. But the nice thing was that not one of them looked at him like he was a freak or thought that he should be locked away in a cage and studied like a lab rat. The rest of the comments were all supportive and helped instill a sense of security in Ianto and subconsciously, his hand was caressing his flat belly.

Ianto let the conversations flow around him, he could feel the day catching up to him and wanted nothing more than to crawl beneath his covers and sleep. He thought he was doing a good job of hiding his weariness until a jaw-cracking yawn split his face in two.

"I think it's time we got Ianto settled into his new home, I think he could use a good rest." Clint had been watching Ianto very closely and he could see the fatigue in Ianto's eyes; the yawn was just the icing on the cake.

Ianto had to admit that sounded wonderful. "It has been a long day and I would love to lay down for a while.”

Tony grinned at the man. “Then you’ll be glad to know there’s a nice warm, comfortable bed waiting for you."

To Ianto that was the best news he’d heard all day.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Do we _have_ to take Gwen with us?" Owen whined (again) to Tosh once Gwen had left the room still ranting loudly about them always hiding things from her. "I mean, it's not like we can take Rhys with us, so why don’t we just Retcon her and put her back into her constable’s uniform? That way she'd be safe from UNIT and more importantly, out of our hair."

It was such a tempting suggestion that Tosh found herself admitting that she’d thought about doing it more than once herself. She and Owen both knew that Gwen's self-righteous arrogance and know-it-all attitude were guaranteed to cause them problems with the no-nonsense Americans. Tosh was certain that Stargate Command would not bend the rules like Jack had always done whenever Gwen flashed her cow eyes, even if they did want to sleep with her.

There was a note of true weariness in Tosh’s voice as she replied, "We don't really have a choice; the transfer has already been approved for the three of us." Despite the fact that Ianto was safe and sound at SHIELD, it still stung Tosh deeply that they were basically abandoning him to his fate. Once again she wondered why on Earth Jack would be so cruel as to leave Ianto out of his contingency plans. Part of her hoped that Jack simply hadn’t updated the plan after Ianto had been hired, but the rational part of her brain said that Gwen was hired after Ianto and Jack had no problem making arrangements for her.

Things had been tense around the Hub once the former PC learned that Ianto had disappeared without a word to her; they had seen the envy in her eyes as she demanded to know if Jack had something else planned for Ianto. They didn't give her many details but they did inform her that Ianto had received a different job offer, one too good for him to turn down. Ianto had already been gone for nearly a month and it was clear every time they talked to him that Ianto was very happy, happier than he’d ever been there with them.

As if sensing where her thoughts were going Owen gently nudged Tosh in the shoulder, bringing her back to the present, and she favoured him with a small smile. Since Ianto had left the two of them had grown closer but Tosh had at last realised that Owen would never love her like she loved him. After a few tears and half a bottle of Chardonnay, she found herself okay with that, even though it still hurt. Taking a leaf from Ianto’s book, she vowed that this would be a new start, a chance to make new friends and maybe even find that special someone. Still it was nice of Owen to offer her comfort.

"Hey, come on, Tosh, Tea-Boy is going to be fine. We managed to survive a grilling by Nick Fury and that was one scary man, let me tell you. But scary or not, I trust Fury completely and from what I gather, Ianto’s going home where he’ll have people who care about him and who can protect him…” Owen lowered his voice to a mere whisper before continuing; Gwen was well-known for eavesdropping on everyone’s conversations, looking for any bit of gossip she could either use against her co-workers or share with her friends amongst the constables. “…his unborn baby…” his voice rose again, “…from dangers. Dangers that you and I just can't." They both knew that UNIT would give their eye teeth to get their hands on Ianto and the vast store of knowledge in his head; if they found out about his pregnancy, he’d spend the rest of his life being dissected like a lab rat. The trio had spent several hours over pizza and beer, well pizza and water for Ianto, discussing the situation and they’d come to the irrefutable conclusion that that was why SHIELD was the best and only place for him.

"I know,” Tosh sighed sat down behind her keyboard. “It’s just I feel…”

“…like you’re letting down your best friend? Yeah, I know.” Owen flopped down on the sofa and put his feet up on the coffee table. “I’d kill for just one more cup of Tea-Boy’s coffee, right?”

“That would be lovely,” Tosh smiled. “But I think that there’s someone with SHIELD that Ianto might have feelings for." She hadn't missed the way Ianto's eyes had lit up whenever he talked about one person in particular; she remembered thinking at the time how strange it was to see Ianto without his mask on, how without it, he became someone different and she liked that change very much.

Owen wouldn't say it out loud but he was happy to hear that, he knew that Ianto was going to need someone who could and would love him like he deserved to be loved.

It had been nearly a month since Ianto had arrived at SHIELD and taken up residency in Stark Tower and to his immense surprise Ianto had found himself fitting in like he’d always been there. His godfather had used his power and skills as the scariest man alive to assign and then enforce a top secret classification for Ianto's pregnancy thus preventing SHIELD’s medical staff from discussing the topic outside of the medical wing.

Within days of learning of about Ianto's pregnancy Tony Stark had designed and then supervised the creation of a state-of-the-art delivery room in the tower. When Ianto had shyly thanked him and the others had asked why, Tony’s reasoning had been simple: once he reached the stage of active labour and needed the delivery room, there was no way that Ianto would be fit to travel to the Helicarrier to give birth. Plus the flying fortress was a battleship that could be called to duty at any time with little or no warning, meaning that Ianto could end up giving birth during combat. As far as he was concerned it only made sense to have a room set up in the safety of the tower.

Deeply touched by the amount of thought that had gone into the project, to say nothing of the money involved – Tony had splashed out on top-of-the-line equipment – Ianto hadn't argued. Instead, he said thank you in the best way he knew how, he treated Tony and Pepper to their first cup of coffee made with his private special blend which only Jack had ever been privileged enough to taste. The moment their cups were empty, Ianto Jones was declared the official Coffee God of Stark Tower. The only downside to that situation was that Tony personally consumed more cups of coffee in a single day than all of Torchwood Three combined. Ianto had been worried about Tony and all that caffeine (he’d tried to sneak decaf into Tony’s cup and the man had actually wept) until his father had stepped in.

_Tony was on his fifth cup of the day and it was only ten in the morning; it was clear that he was on a caffeine high, buzzing along at a mile a minute and looking in no way to be slowing down._

_"Do you think I should cut him off?" Ianto asked as he watched Tony ramble on, his words coming out like bullets from a machine gun. "JARVIS, how much sleep has Tony had?"_

_"Less than two hours." JARVIS did not sound pleased at that._

_Ianto sighed deeply. The worst part of pregnancy had hit him like a sledgehammer that morning when the smell of brewing coffee had turned his stomach on its head and the ensuing bout of morning sickness had left him soaked with sweat and feeling completely drained. It was the first time the nausea had been more than an unsettled stomach and he was still feeling queasy; he was in no mood to deal with a hyper-active Tony Stark. There were only two people who could handle Tony when he was like this; one was Pepper but she was stuck in an endless round of board meetings for the next several hours, and the other one was his father. "JARVIS, please locate my father," Ianto instructed the A.I._

_"Agent Coulson is already on his way, Sir. I had already alerted him to your sickness and Tony's lack of sleep. Agent Barton is also enroute to your location,” JARVIS informed Ianto. That was another thing that Ianto had had to get used to, Tony's A.I.; upon learning of the young man’s pregnancy, JARVIS had taken on an overly-protective role and monitored Ianto's vital signs twenty-four hours a day, paying close attention to his blood pressure. He kept detailed records of everything Ianto did, including when he slept and for how long, his exercise regime and his diet, although he was very careful to all this unobtrusively._

_As if all that weren’t enough, JARVIS also seemed to be playing matchmaker for Ianto and Clint; no one could figure out how he did it, but he managed to throw the two men together whenever possible._

_Ianto felt himself blushing as a broad smile curled the corners of his lips. He was actually enjoying Clint's protective nature towards him and his unborn child, and though Ianto would never say it out loud there were times when he almost wished that his child was Clint's._ 'At leastthen I knowitwill beloved,’ _and then Ianto hated himself for those moments of weakness. It wasn't Jack's fault; he hadn't even known his young lover could get pregnant much less that he was actually expecting their baby. In his heart, Ianto knew that he wouldn’t have used his condition to trap Jack into staying on Earth but still, he couldn't help but wish that his child was going to have two parents who loved them._

_"Ianto, are you strong enough to be up?" Clint asked as he entered the kitchen and headed straight for Ianto; he was slightly breathless and Ianto suspected he’d run a great part of the way. Even as he focussed on Ianto, out of the corner of his eye Clint watched Phil head for Tony who was trying to look like he was doing anything but stealing his next cup of coffee._

_Ianto favoured Clint with a faint but sweet smile. "I think so, I came to get some tea in hopes that it would help calm my stomach and since I was here, I thought I could at least put a pot on for all of you. The next thing I know, Tony’s gulping down scalding hot coffee like there’s no tomorrow. I would have tried to stop him, but I didn't know that Tony hasn't slept more than two hours in the last thirty-six.” Ianto sighed wearily as he admitted “I'm not sure if I can deal with a hyperactive Tony Stark, not today."_

_Clint slipped his arm around Ianto’s shoulders and nodded to the pair across the room. "I don't think you're going to have to worry about that."_

_"Tony, you don't need any more coffee!” Phil wrestled the half-empty cup of coffee from Tony's hands. “You need sleep." He got a persuasive grip on Tony’s arm and moved him firmly towards the door. “I am personally going to see to it that you go to bed even if I have to lock you in your room.”_

_Tony tried to squirm out of Phil’s grasp, floundering behind him with his free arm in an attempt to grab his coffee cup. "But, Phil, I need it! I'm right in the middle of this project and I can't stop for something as_ unnecessary _as sleep!" Tony whined. “I don’t wanna go to bed!”_

_Clint and Ianto both turned their heads, hiding wide smirks; it was funny that big strong Iron Man sounded just like a five-year-old at nap time. “I hope JARVIS got that!” Clint whispered._

_Ignoring the other two men, Phil pinned Tony with a glare. "Your health is more important than any project, now come on, you’re going to bed."_

_No one could possibly have looked more shocked than Tony Stark when the words, "Only if you'll join me," fell from his lips._

_Phil looked taken back for a moment before his lips twitched up into a grin. "If that's what it’ll take to keep you in bed, then so be it," he pronounced._

_For a moment the room was a frozen tableau of shock; no one seem capable of saying or doing anything and then Tony blinked and the strange spell was broken. "You're not serious, are you?" he asked and while his voice echoed pure disbelief his eyes were shining with hope._

_Apparently completely forgetting that Ianto and Clint were watching with rapt attention, Phil reached out, grabbed the other man’s shoulders and then used his body to pin Tony against the counter. "First of all, I'm always serious, and secondly, you need sleep. If I have to tie you to my bed to ensure you get that sleep then so be it," Phil purred his words in a seductive tone of voice that no one had ever heard._

_Ianto blinked as he suddenly figured out what was happening and he felt a thrill of happiness: his father had finally found his one true mate. "We really don't want to be here, my dad's about to claim what's his," Ianto whispered to Clint as he tugged on his arm._

_Clint glanced first at Ianto and then at the others and his eyes widened as he watched Phil change dramatically right before his eyes. "What's happening? It's like he's a primal animal stalking prey," Clint whispered back._

_Ianto inched a few steps towards the door. "My dad's been fighting his feelings for Tony for quite a while and it’s my guess that since Tony's not taking care of himself something snapped in my dad and now he’s going to claim Tony as his and make sure that he starts taking care of himself." Ianto had discovered his dad’s feelings for Tony Stark shortly after Phil first started working with the genius. He was actually surprised that it had taken Phil so long to finally act on his feelings. "We’ve really got to go, now! We don't want to be here for the live show!"_

_As he saw Phil close the distance between him and Tony to mere millimetres, Clint had to agree and snatching Ianto by the arm, he hauled him out of the kitchen and then ran with him down the hall as fast as they could go, laughing and giggling like naughty schoolboys._

_Out of the corner of his eye, Tony noticed the abrupt_ _disappearance of Clint and Ianto and he gulped as he realised that nothing stood between him and the intense desire of one Phil Coulson. "Phil, do you know what you’re saying?" Tony asked softly, breathlessly, wanting to make very sure that he wasn’t misreading the signs and that this was something Phil truly wanted._

_"I do Tony, and it's the same thing you want,” Phil answered with complete conviction. “So, can I kiss you now?" and then he did, taking Tony’s soft whimper as a yes._

"Hey!” Clint gently nudged Ianto in the ribs. “What's got you thinking so hard?"

Ianto was broken out of his thoughts by Clint leaning over him and poking him. He looked up and smiled, mentally cursing the faint blush that appeared on his cheeks whenever the other man got close to him. "I was just thinking about that morning my dad and Tony got together," Ianto admitted softly. “Remember?”

“Yeah, I do.” Clint raised an eyebrow as he took the seat next to Ianto, concern in his gaze. “You _are_ okay with Tony dating Phil, right? Because he _is_ your father and I think Tony is truly serious about him, which means you're going to have Iron Man as a stepdad sometime in the future and that’s got to be a little scary, you know?" Clint knew he was rambling; he did that when he was nervous and Ianto made him nervous, he wasn't going to lie about that.

Ianto smiled warmly at Clint, finding him more than a little adorable with his rambling. "Trust me, I'm more than okay with my dad and Tony. I owe that man my life in more ways than one and all I want is for him to be happy and clearly Tony makes that happen.” Feeling unusually brave, Ianto reached up and caressed the side of Clint’s face. “By the way, you’re very cute when you ramble," he confessed and then felt his face flush even more. He had no reason why he’d just said that to Clint; _‘Must be hormones,’_ he decided, patting his belly affectionately.

Clint couldn't help it, he let a silly grin cross his face. "You think I'm cute?"

Caught out, Ianto shifted in his seat, unconsciously moving closer to Clint. "When I first met you I had such a crush on you, even though you didn't even realise I was alive."

A bark of nervous laughter escaped Clint's lips. "Are you kidding me? _You_ were the one and only thing I looked forward to seeing at SHIELD, but you were strictly off limits. I mean, you're Agent Coulson’s son and Director Fury's godson; I might have been insane back then, but I didn't have a death wish."

"And now?" Ianto found himself asking as he licked his suddenly dry lips.

A smile tugged at Clint's lips. "Well, I guess technically you're still off limits but this time I’m just crazy enough to take that chance.” Clint’s voice dropped to a huskier level as he said, “I want you, Ianto Jones, I want to take that chance and see where this goes between the two of us.” He reached out and traced Ianto’s mouth with his fingertips. “But I won't push you into anything you're not ready for."

At first Ianto could only stare in surprise as his mind raced to make sense of what he’d just heard. Finally he managed to find his voice, "I'm pregnant with another's man child, Clint, which means that we’re a package deal. Are you sure you can handle that?" Mentally, Ianto crossed his fingers; he liked Clint, he always had, probably a lot more than he should, Clint was his first real crush, but after losing Lisa and being abandoned by Jack, he didn't think he had it in him to put his heart on the line a third time.

Sensing and understanding Ianto's unspoken fear Clint reached out and took Ianto's hands in his. "I know that you and the Peanut are an unbreakable duo and I'm cool with that. Actually, it makes you pretty awesome in my book, that you’re thinking of the little one first. But that doesn’t change the fact that I want the two of you in my life." Clint was listening to his heart and he knew that Ianto was special and that more than anything else he needed him in his life as much more than just a friend. "We can take it one day at a time; we don't have to rush into anything until you're ready."

"I'd like that a lot.” Ianto took a shuddering breath and smiled gratefully at Clint. “Slow is good, I can do slow. I really like you, Clint."

Clint’s eyes lit up and he smiled back at Ianto. "Then slow we’ll go. I just want to be here for you and the little Peanut."

Ianto shifted so he could relax against Clint and snuggled deeper against him as Clint's arm came up to wrap around his shoulders and pull him against his body.

Ianto didn't know it was possible to be so happy and in the back of his mind he was terrified that something would come along and take his happiness away from him. _‘It’s always happened before,’_ but this time he was determined to cling to this little slice of heaven for as long as it lasted. Knowing that he was fighting for his child as well as himself, he would fight to keep with his last breath.


	6. The Surprises at the Baby Shower

**Chapter 6**

True to Clint's promise he and Ianto had taken things slowly as they explored the feelings, both physical and emotional, that were developing between them. They hadn't gone beyond a number of heavy, toe-curling, steal-your-breath-away make-out sessions mostly because neither one wanted to risk hurting the baby but also because neither man was quite ready to take that irreversible next step. _‘All in all,’_ Ianto reflected one night as he lay in bed cradling his just-starting-to-show baby bump, _‘compared to_ _my_ _last two relationships_ _I am_ _so_ _much_ _happier than_ _I’ve been in a long time.’_

Clint, ever the attentive boyfriend, made it a point to be at every one of Ianto's pre-natal appointments and truth be told, Ianto relished having him there, sharing each new development together. He was there when Ianto learned he was having a daughter and he was the one Ianto turned to when she first kicked.

It had been a morning like any other; Ianto was eating a healthy breakfast and was just finishing his yogurt and granola when he felt the strangest sensation in his belly. Sitting very still, he waited, wondering if it had just been his imagination and then it happened again. Ianto made a small noise of surprise, one that had Clint abandoning his half-buttered toast to be at his side. "What's wrong?" Clint looked at him with worry clear in his eyes. “You okay?”

Ianto felt bad for worrying Clint and quickly reassured him. "I just felt her kick," Ianto told him with joy lacing his voice and awe shining in his eyes.

Clint looked at Ianto with wonder and the slightest bit of hesitation in his eyes. "Can I feel her?" he asked gesturing to Ianto's stomach. Despite how close they’d grown, he didn’t want to presume anything at such an intimate moment for Ianto.

Instead of answering him Ianto simply reached out, took a hold of Clint's hand and placed it on his stomach where he had last felt his daughter kicking. _‘Come on, baban,’_ he called to her, _‘one more time, for me? Please?’_

Clint's fingers twitched slightly as he waited with breathless anticipation to feel the movement of Ianto's daughter for himself but nothing happened. Just as he was ready to give up, thinking that maybe it was too soon to feel her on the outside, he felt it, a strong kick against his palm. "She kicked me!" Happiness filled his voice as he turned misty eyes to Ianto.

Ianto smiled at his boyfriend, pleased that Clint wasn’t afraid to show his emotions. "She likes you." He placed his hand over Clint’s, “I guess she approves of you.”

Clint beamed, a true smile that lit up his eyes, one that most rarely got to see, a smile reserved almost exclusively for Ianto. "Well I like her too," he murmured as he lowered his head and placed a kiss on Ianto's stomach before moving upwards, "and I really, really like her dad." He brushed a kiss across Ianto's lips, grinning against his mouth as his Welshman's lips parted and they deepened their kiss.

They spent several lovely long moments letting the kiss draw to an end on its own and once they were done Ianto sank into Clint's warm embrace, each resting a hand the bump while their free hands tangled together. Had anyone looked in on them, they would have found a scene of domestic bliss.

"So have you thought of any names?” Clint asked breaking the quiet lull. “You know Tony's still pushing for something ‘Tony-sounding’. He’s even got a pool going as to when she’ll be born, her height and weight, the colour of her eyes, and what you’ll name her.”

"Never going to happen," Ianto ground out. Even before learning that Ianto was having a girl, Tony had been dropping hints left and right about having someone named ‘Jr.’ and didn’t Ianto agree that ‘Tony Jr. Jones’ had a nice ring to it? Now since Ianto had told everyone that he was having a girl, Tony had been emailing him list after list of suitable names, including their meanings, alternate spellings, and country of origin. When he realised that Ianto had stopped opening his emails, Tony had taken to leaving the lists lying around the Tower in places where Ianto couldn’t possibly miss seeing them. "I do have a couple of names in mind but I don't want to decide right now, not until she gets here, then I'll know what to name her."

"Sounds like a plan." Clint nodded with approval; he could see the logic in that plan and he loved the fact that sensible approach to life was Ianto Jones to a ‘T’.

Now, Nick Fury was obviously a smart man, after all, you didn't become the head of SHIELD by being a fool, so when he learned that his godson was pregnant he immediately ordered Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff to stand down. He wanted the best protection for his godson and his unborn grandson that the team could offer and that was them. It was a shame however, that he couldn't give his one good eye the same treatment but he needed Phil Coulson, a decision that only now he was beginning to regret.

Fury took a deep calming breath and closed his eye before opening it again. "Do I even want to know why?" he asked his old friend.

"Let’s just say he's a little protective," Phil offered as he glanced at Tony; once again Iron Man had followed him into the field while he was on his latest mission. Ever since they had gotten together Phil had gained an iron escort, a second shadow who accompanied him wherever he went, especially on missions whether they were dangerous or not. He could understand why and Phil didn't blame him.

"I happen to like Phil's parts just where they are and I don't trust your little minions to keep him safe and bring him back to me in one unharmed piece," Tony spoke up from the other side of the room where he was happily poking through the array of memorabilia decorating Fury's office.

"Don't even think about," Fury warned in his best no-nonsense voice as Tony's eager fingers reached for a sword he had on display. "Since you can't seem to go anywhere without your shadow, and because my godson would kill me if I let anything happen to you before you meet your granddaughter, I’ve decided that until Ianto has his baby or the world is about to end you’re on leave.” Fury declared. “Now get Stark out of my office before I feed him to Myfanwy."

"You can try…” Having gotten what exactly he wanted yet again, Tony abandoned his admiration of the beautiful sword to latch happily on to his lover. “But we both know Myfanwy loves me. Now come on, Phil, we have a lot of catching up to do. Those black SUV's don't offer enough room for what I want to do to you." Tony winked lasciviously at Fury and put his arm around Phil’s waist, letting his hand drop down to rest comfortably on his butt.

Phil was never more grateful than at that very moment that he’d lost the ability to blush long ago. One unfortunate side-effect of dating Tony Stark was having his body turning him back into a high school-aged boy again, including the requisite over-active libido.

Fury just shook his head with resignation. "I don't care what the two of you do; I just want you to do it _off_ my Helicarrier and nowhere _near_ my office." He was happy for his friend, he really was; Phil deserved to be loved without reservation, he just didn't want to hear about it. But it was clear that both men were content and thriving in their relationship. That made Nick happy, although he’d never let it show.

Tony at leered openly at Phil before turning to Fury with a grin. "Don't worry, old man, I have no plans on sharing Phil with anyone, ever, not even you." Tony had shocked himself when he realised just how possessive he was over Phil, he didn't like the idea of him even thinking about being with anyone else.

It had been frustrating at first, having Tony glued to his side no matter where he went or what he did, but eventually Phil found he didn't mind Tony's possessive side, it actually made him feel special. Truth was, he was just as possessive of Tony and made sure the other man knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that they belonged to each other and only each other. Hearing Fury’s snort of derisive anger following Tony’s flippant comment, Phil grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards the door, muttering "Come along, Tony, let's get you out of here before you cause any more trouble!" and without further ado he dragged the man out of Fury's office before his partner caused any damage.

Fury shook his head; there was no point in getting frustrated about it, he was just going to have to get used to the fact that they were a joined pair. "I pity the fool who hurts either one of them,” he told his blissfully empty office as he settled down to an endless pile of paperwork.

Months passed and Ianto was fortunate enough to enjoy a text-book perfect pregnancy, including experiencing all the crazy and sometimes bizarre food cravings as well as the mercurial mood swings pregnancy was famous for. Tony had taken it upon himself to make sure that the tower was always fully stocked with all and any kinds of food that Ianto could possibly want while Clint made sure that Ianto had everything else he could possibly need. Pepper and Natasha were taking a great deal of pleasure in helping Ianto shop online for all the pretty, girlie baby clothes they could find – it didn’t escape anyone’s notice that most of the clothing was pink, frilly and lacy, the exact opposite of the women themselves – as well as everything else a baby could possibly need. It didn’t take too long before the Tower received so many deliveries that one of the spare rooms began to resemble a baby goods store.

While the women had been ‘shopping till they dropped’ the men, namely Phil, Tony and Clint, had been just as busy creating the perfect nursery for Phil and Tony’s soon-to-be-born granddaughter, something that still made Tony cringe and Clint’s possible step-daughter. Ianto could tell by the happy gleam in his eyes and the excitement in his voice when he talked about what he’d done that day just how much Clint loved his daughter. It was this realisation which led Ianto to his own decision.  

With the details of his plan firmly in mind, Ianto knew he needed help with the execution and so he turned to the only person he knew he could trust to keep a secret. One afternoon he strolled casually through the tower until he located her in her office, working intently on the computer. Poking his head through the door he asked, "Pepper, do you have a minute? Can I talk to you?"

With a few clicks of her mouse, Pepper closed out the documents she was examining and then she smiled warmly at Ianto as she motioned him into a chair. “Of course you can.”

“First of all, I know I’ve said it before, but I’m saying it again, thank you so much for everything you’ve been doing; you and Natasha are simply amazing!”

Pepper waved him off; “Don’t you dare tell anyone but we’re actually having fun! Baby clothes for girls are just so… girlie!” and then Pepper Potts actually giggled. “And don’t you tell anyone I just… you know…”

“Your secret is safe with me, ma’am,” Ianto laughed “I promise!”

“See you it is or else!” Pepper wagged a finger at him. “Now, what can I do for you? More shopping? Did you decide to get the baby wipe warmer after all?”

"Tony thought that was one of the more brilliant inventions he’d ever seen so he ordered two, one for me and one for him. Why he needs warm baby wipes I don’t want to think about, thank you very much!” Ianto shuddered but then he realised the reason _why_ Tony would use the wipes and he blushed a fiery red from his neck to the tips of his ears.

Pepper had to dig her fingernails into her thigh to keep from bursting out in gales of laughter; she’d never seen the mild-mannered Welshman so nonplussed before and she secretly hoped that JARVIS would give her a copy of the CCTV of the moment for later blackmail usage. “You were saying?” she prompted gently.

“Uh, yeah, please…” Ianto struggled to regain his dignity. “I need your help finding a gift for Clint." After all the man had done to help Ianto, he had to make sure that what he chose was perfect.

Now it as Pepper’s turn to be bewildered and she blinked several times. _‘That was unexpected; I wonder why_ _Ianto_ didn’t _go_ _to Natasha for help?’_ Settling herself back in her chair, she asked, “I’m not sure what kind of help you’ll need, Clint loves you and I’m sure he’ll love anything you give him. Do you have a price-range in mind?”

Ianto fidgeted just a little as he stared at his hands and then he looked up at her. “I want to arrange for Clint to adopt my daughter.”

Pepper was stunned. “Are you sure, Ianto? That’s… that’s a huge step.”

“I’m sure, Pepper,” Ianto declared with firm conviction. “Clint and I have talked about our future together and we know that we’re in this for the long run plus I know that he already loves her just as much as I do.”

"Oh Ianto, this is the sweetest thing I've ever heard!” Pepper exclaimed, “And I know that Clint is absolutely going to love it!” She honestly couldn’t think of a better gift for Clint. Ianto was certainly right in his belief that the other man adored Ianto and the child growing within him; she really hoped that Clint knew that Ianto felt the same about him. _‘Making him the baby’s legal parent would certainly prove that.’_

Ianto ducked his head and blushed lightly, “so you’ll help me then? Cos I’m not sure what all I need to do and I don’t want Clint to stumble onto it accidentally, so you can’t tell anyone, okay? Please?” He looked at her pleadingly, and between his big blue eyes looking at her and his hand resting gently on the large bump beneath his shirt, Pepper was hooked.

"Of course I'll help." It wouldn't be easy to keep this from Natasha but it would be well worth it to make Ianto happy.

Clint knew Ianto was up to something and under normal circumstances he would be bugging the crap out of his boyfriend, and yes, he did wear a goofy grin whenever he thought about Ianto being his boyfriend, but he knew Ianto would tell him what he was up to when he was ready. Besides right now all his focussed was on getting the nursery finished on schedule; he wanted it to be ready before the baby shower that Pepper was throwing for Ianto because the baby’s room was going to be his gift to Ianto. He only hoped that Ianto liked it.

As if reading his mind Phil patted Clint on the arm, "Relax, kid! He's going to love it." He knew his son would, the room was turning out to be a real beauty fit for a princess.

"And with JARVIS monitoring this nursery that little girl is going to be one of the safest babies in the world, actually _the_ safest," Tony added his two cents worth to the conversation as he continued to install the state-of-the-art security system, which included a few special features he’d invented, to make sure that the first baby born in the tower would be kept safe from harm.

Clint smiled his gratitude shining from his eyes; he was going to make sure that Ianto's little girl was happy and that she knew exactly how much she was loved.

Ianto paced his room nervously; he knew the baby shower for him was scheduled to start in roughly twenty minutes and he was dressed and ready to go, but earlier that morning Pepper had given him the papers necessary to make Clint his daughter’s legal parent and guardian. He knew he would be taking an enormous leap of faith asking his boyfriend to share in the raising of his daughter but Ianto couldn’t imagine doing that without him. Ianto checked his watch again; the party was due to start in less than ten minutes, so Clint should be there to walk him downstairs shortly. He was truly looking forward to his baby shower, and more importantly, he was looking forward to sharing his special day with his boyfriend.

Ianto’s sharp hearing caught the sound of Clint’s door closing and nervously, he checked once again to make sure the paperwork was in his pocket. He felt a thrill of excitement for what was to come; after all the hard work that Clint had put in over the past eight months, including enduring middle-of-the-night cravings and snarky temper tantrums, Ianto wanted to reward him for sticking by his side through thick and thin, and in his heart he knew that asking Clint to share the responsibility of his daughter – _their_ daughter – was surely the best gift he could possibly have given him.

Even though Tosh and Owen couldn't be there in person, they had sent their beautifully wrapped gifts to Phil for safe-keeping. As Ianto prepared to attend his baby shower, the pair were on board the space ship Daedalus which was headed to the Pegasus Galaxy and the recently discovered city of the Ancients, Atlantis. To their complete astonishment, they’d been selected to join the latest team of highly qualified personnel Stargate Command had assembled due to their vast experience in dealing with the myriad objects that had fallen through the Rift. Toshiko had been chosen because of her expertise in translating alien languages and decoding the markings on artefacts. Owen had been selected because he was the world’s only true expert on alien life forms thanks to the innumerable autopsies he’d performed over the years.

Despite the fact that Gwen had done battle with aliens before, she had not been considered suitable for the mission simply because the higher-ups at Stargate Command had not found her to be a true team player. In fact, Gwen had a bad habit of lording it over Stargate personnel, telling them of her heroic exploits in the field and completely ignoring the fact that those she was showing off in front of had travelled to multiple alien planets throughout the Universe. When she’d been told that she would be remaining behind on the Atlantis mission and the reasons why, she had thrown such a temper tantrum that the General had threatened to toss her in to the brig until she’d calmed down.

After that, Gwen had embarked on a relentless campaign of subservient wheedling, grovelling and begging until the General threw up his hands in disgust and ordered her to get as far off his base as possible, even if it meant going to Atlantis. Satisfied that she’d finally gotten her own way, Gwen had rushed off to the mess hall to gloat about her new status on the team to anyone she could find.

Tosh had contacted him a month ago, after receiving their shower invitations, and she’d told him everything about their mission that she was allowed to via a secured channel comm link; they’d laughed and cried, remembered the past and speculated about the future until Tosh had to sign off and finalise her packing

Firmly ensconced on the love seat in the main lounge, which Pepper and Natasha had tastefully decorated for the shower, Ianto was for a change thoroughly enjoying being the centre of attention. Despite calls of “just rip the paper off!” from Tony, Ianto had carefully unwrapped each of his gifts, marvelling over the tiny onesies, the miniature booties, the small library of books and the zoo of stuffed animals, amongst other things. Without realising what he was doing, Ianto saved the best for last, the gifts from Tosh and Owen; Clint handed them to him one by one.

From Tosh his daughter received a beautiful white dress made of satin, with pale pink crystals sewn into the skirt in the shape of Japanese cherry blossoms; Ianto could not wait to see his daughter in the dress. _‘I have to remember to send pictures of her to Tosh!’_ Surprisingly, Owen had clearly put some thought into his gift, although Ianto was fairly certain that Tosh had probably had some input; he’d sent Ianto a set of beautiful picture books of Welsh faerie tales and stories that Ianto could read to his daughter as well as a stuffed Myfanwy and a Welsh red dragon plushie.

Looking at the gifts his friends had sent for his daughter Ianto realised how much he truly missed the two of them. Tosh had warned him about the dangers she and Owen would face on their mission and it saddened him to think that they might never get to meet his precious child. Ianto closed his eyes for just a moment and sent a fervent prayer out into the Universe for their safe return from Atlantis.

Tosh had also sent what could only be described as Torchwood bears. Tosh's was the purple one and it had glasses perched on its nose and even came with its own little computer. Owen's wore a lab coat and a stethoscope around its neck and Ianto wasn't surprised to see it was a tan-coloured. The third bear in the package was the white bear and it was easy to see that it was him since it was dressed in a mini version of his favourite charcoal pinstriped suit, complete with the red tie he always wore with it.

There was a fourth, blue bear dressed as cop but the most shocking sight and the one that unexpected touched his heart the most was the little black bear wearing red braces and a miniature WWII greatcoat complete with captain’s stripes. As he cuddled his Torchwood bears, Ianto knew he was going to love them forever and he couldn’t wait to tell his daughter stories about his friends.

Tony, clearly having peeked into the package beforehand, had given Ianto a set of bears as well, although his were dressed like the Avengers. Ianto wasn't sure where or how Tony had managed to find stuffed bears dressed as Iron Man, Hawkeye and the Black Widow, but there was even a Nick Fury bear with an eye patch. Pepper's was a pink one dressed in a white pant suit, and the Phil bear wore a double-breasted suit. Ianto laughed when he saw them all assembled on the seat of the large bay window.

Drawing a deep breath, Ianto looked around the room, at the assembly of his friends, at the breadth of their generosity towards a child they’d never met but had already taken to their hearts and he realised how truly fortunate he was. He opened his mouth to say thank you but found that he couldn’t speak past the huge lump in his throat. Without making a conscious decision to do so, he turned to Clint for help and support.

Always in tune with Ianto’s moods, Clint quickly spoke up, momentarily drawing attention away from Ianto so that he could collect himself. Adopting a game show host persona, he popped up from his chair and announced, "Now Ianto, you may think that you’ve reached the end of the gift-giving portion of this afternoon’s event, but you would be wrong.” He looked around the room, “Am I right, folks?”

There was a resounding chorus of agreement in the room; they all knew exactly what Clint was up to and they couldn’t wait for the best part of Ianto’s shower to be revealed.

Clint glanced quickly at his boyfriend and saw that Ianto had recovered his calm exterior. “Looking at all this bounty you're probably thinking that this is all of our gifts but you would be wrong, again.” He waved his hand at the others, “Am I right?”

Catching on to the spirit of Clint’s performance, the room erupted in a loud roar of “Yes!”

Turning to his boyfriend, Clint executed a courtly bow and offered Ianto his hand. “Now, my oh-so-better half, if you'll follow me we have one more teeny, tiny surprise in store for you.”

Suddenly Ianto knew the perfect moment had arrived and rather than using Clint’s hand to stand up, Ianto pulled him down onto the love seat. "Wait, first I have something for you. Clint, I will never be able to thank you properly for everything you've done for me and I don’t just mean today. From the day I arrived you've been the support that I've needed; you’ve been by my side through the good and the bad and you’ve shown me that I don’t have to do everyone on my own.”

Unexpectedly, Clint blushed at Ianto’s praise. “Believe me when I say that every moment has been a true pleasure and I would do it all again, because it was for you,” he spoke gallantly but his words were from the heart and that showed in his eyes as he looked intently at Ianto and for just a moment, they were the only two people in the room.

Clearing his throat Ianto continued. “For so long I was afraid that I would have to go to every appointment alone, but I didn’t because you've been there beside me, for every little joy that I've experienced as well as for the more unpleasant moments.” He paused, remembering one ignominious morning in particular when he’d been had an exceptionally violent bout of vomiting and Clint had found him lying on the bathroom floor crying his eyes out because he’d gotten sick on his pyjamas.

Knowing just what Ianto was thinking about, Clint smiled gently as he quietly told him, “I’d do it all over again, Yan.”

“Thank you,” Ianto took hold of Clint’s hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “I know you love this little girl just as much as I do and this is my way of showing it to you. I hope you’ll accept." Ianto released his boyfriend’s hand and pulled the wrapped box he had tucked away beneath the cushion next to him and handed it to Clint, his eyes reflecting both hope and anxiety.

Accepting the packet, Clint smiled reassuringly as he began opening the gift. "Ianto, I'm sure whatever it is I'm going to love it just because…”His voice died out as the enormity of what he was reading hit him. Clint could barely believe his eyes and his gaze flickered between the papers and Ianto; for once he couldn't find the right words to express the tumultuous emotions that were flowing through him.

There was a quiet buzz of curiosity and excitement in the room as the rest of the party-goers whispered amongst themselves, trying to guess what Ianto was up to. Pepper did her best to look as interested in the guessing game as she could, but she wasn’t fooling Natasha.

“You know what’s going on, don’t you,” Natasha leaned in close.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Pepper shrugged nonchalantly and shushed her by putting a finger across her lips.

Mindless of the nosy speculation of their friends, Clint clutched at the papers in his lap. "Ianto, are you sure about this?"

The hope in Clint's voice endeared him to Ianto and made him smile as he reached out and rested his hands on top of Clint's. Looking him straight in the eyes, Ianto stated, "Jack may have helped create her, but _you,_ Clint are going to be my daughter’s other father and you’re going to help me fill her life with wonder and excitement…” Ianto cupped Clint’s face, “…and most of all, love. I want you to be officially recognised as her other father; I want the entire world to know that we love you and that we are family. So what do you say, will you adopt my daughter?”

“Yes!” A bright smile appeared on Clint's face. "I say yes!" He kissed Ianto deeply pouring all the love and joy his heart was feeling into the connection before jumping to his feet and turning to face the others, simply bursting with the need to share his wonderful news. "We're having a baby!" Clint happily announced to the others, his body vibrating with excitement.

Tony rolled his eyes Ianto-style and snorted from his spot sprawled next to Phil on the couch. "Uh, duh… We already know that and judging by the size of Ianto’s belly when it arrives in the room before he does, it's not like it's that big of news anymore."

The snarky comments flew right over head Clint’s and he had the silliest smile on his face as he shook his head. "No, no… I mean Ianto has given me the greatest gift of all, he's arranged for me to formally adopt his little girl, I'm about to become a father."

Natasha glanced at her girlfriend with an affectionate smile. "This is the surprise that you've been working on with Ianto?" she whispered softly. “This is what you couldn’t tell me when you were working late?”

Smiling as she watched Clint looking over the paperwork with Ianto pointing out details here and there, Pepper nodded her head. "It is and before you ask Ianto thought long and hard about this decision and I’m sure he has the lists of pros and cons to prove it. He knows Clint is in this for the long haul and while this child won't be Clint's in blood they both believe that she’ll be his daughter in every way that matters."

Natasha wrapped his arms around Pepper and kissed her gently. “I’m so pr…”

Clint bounced over to them and grabbed Natasha to wrap his arms around her, effectively stopping her from whatever she was going to say. "Tasha, I'm going to be a dad!" Pride poured off of Clint in waves.

Detecting a hint of panic in his words, Natasha wrapped her arms around Clint offering silent comfort. Long before Ianto had arrived in the Tower, she and Clint had talked about growing up and taking on adult responsibilities; she knew how scared he was of having a family, afraid that he would mess up. His own childhood hadn't been an easy one and Clint was worried that he would make the same mistakes his own father had, but she had seen with her own eyes the change in the man’s attitude and confidence level as he had fallen in love with not only Ianto but his little girl as well. "I'm so happy for you," she whispered in Clint's ear and she really was.

Getting up from his spot Phil moved towards his son, joining him on the love seat. "I'm so happy for you Ianto, I'm glad you found someone to love who loves not only you but your little girl as well," Phil whispered in his son's ear.

Content to sit and watch the man he loved interacting with Ianto, Tony had to admit he was so happy for Clint and his son, anyone could see how much the two of them loved one another. It was crystal clear to them all just how much Clint had fallen in love with the little Peanut that Ianto was caring. He looked back over at Phil and a thought struck him, _‘My boyfriend’s gonna be a granddad!’_ Tony marvelled. _‘Does this mean I’m gonna be a step-grandfather? Am I getting that old?’_ A shudder ran down his spine driving him to his feet and across the room. Clapping a hand to his boyfriend’s shoulder, he joked, "I hate to break up this tender moment but now that Ianto has given Clint his epic gift I think it's time we returned the favour, don't you think?" Tony directed this at Clint.

Pulling away from Natasha Clint gave her a swift peck on the cheek and then returned to the love set to claim his boyfriend back from Phil. "He’s right, Ianto, it’s time for one more gift." Holding out his hands he helped Ianto clamber to his feet while ignoring his grimace. With his pregnant belly throwing off his centre of gravity, Ianto was embarrassed that he needed help getting up sometimes.

Tony insisted that Ianto kept his eyes closed as the group entered his and Clint's wing; each couple had been given a separate wing for themselves, mainly for privacy. Clint and Ianto had begun sharing a room shortly before Ianto entered his sixth month of pregnancy and both men enjoyed waking up with the other. The nursery was in the room next to theirs; Ianto had known there was something going on in there right from the start but he’d honoured Clint’s request, “…promise me that you’ll ignore everything you hear or see or sme… well, you know, okay? For me?” because he couldn’t resist his boyfriend’s puppy dog eyes.

Pausing outside the closed door, Clint pressed himself against Ianto’s back, wrapping his hands around the man’s belly. "I can never thank you enough for the gift you just gave me, Ianto; it is without a doubt the greatest gift I have ever received. I only hope that what you’re about to see is enough to show how much I truly love the two of you," Clint whispered into Ianto's ear.

Ianto leaned his head back on Clint’s shoulder. “No gift in the world is better than your love, Cariad,” he murmured quietly, relishing the way Clint cradled their daughter beneath his hands.

Clint kissed Ianto, nodded at Phil who pushed the door open and then stepped aside so that Clint could push Ianto forward a few steps into the room and announce, "Alright open your eyes!"

Ianto did and after blinking several times against the light, he could only stare in complete awe at the room around him. “A nursery,” he whispered, “You built our daughter a nursery!” The walls were painted a soft, dreamy lavender colour with lacy, cream-coloured curtains on the over-sized bay windows, giving the sense of peace and calm throughout the room, while the crib, rocking chair, changing table and dresser were a matching set made of honey-stained oak. Looking closer, Ianto saw that each piece was decorated with different hand-carved animals, they were on the bars of the crib, the sides of the changing table and dresser and on the arm rests of the rocking chair. The wall behind the crib was painted with a mural of the sun setting above the ocean.

Ianto looked behind him, at the assembled Avengers, and he found himself at a complete loss for words. Not one thing came to his mind that would adequately express the gratitude and the love that he was feeling for them. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes and he tipped his head back just a bit so he could blink them away and discovered yet another treasure the room had to offer: the ceiling was a night sky with a Milky Way of stars twinkling and dancing through the heavens; there were even a few shooting stars to add to the beauty and the mystery. Ianto stood transfixed by the sight and an unbidden thought came to him, _‘It’s fitting that Jack’s daughter be able to look into his world.’_

Each bay window seat was covered in the softest pillows and the one closest to the crib held piles of even more stuffed animals. Between the other window and the rocking chair was a bookcase already laden with colourful books, in easy reach of both seats and ready to be shared with an attentive child. The crib was made up with a sheet set of duckies on a background of pale yellow and in the corner sat a Hawkeye bear with another Ianto bear and a tiny pink baby bear nestled between them.

“This…” Ianto was simply gobsmacked by what lay before his eyes and apparently the Peanut was as well, because she let loose with a volley of kicks. “It’s all right, baban, you’ll see it when you get here but trust me, it’s the perfect nursery.” He stroked his fingers over his belly as he basked in pure happiness.

“Do you really think so?” Clint stepped up beside his boyfriend.

"It's beautiful, Clint, thank you; she's going to love it." Ianto wrapped his arms around his lover and turned to face the others. "I can't thank you all enough. It’s just wonderful and you guys are amazing." There was no missing the joy and gratitude in his eyes.

"That's not all; JARVIS’ monitoring system is already plugged in and set up. He’ll be here twenty-four hours a day providing CCTV coverage that you can access from any computer in the Tower or from your mobile once you download the app I designed. He will also be monitoring her vitals and at the first sign of anything wrong we and the medical staff will be alerted. This room also has the very best security system available; I should know, I installed it," Tony added smugly. "All in all she’ll be one protected little girl."

Ianto squeezed Clint's hands, marvelling at how wonderfully his life was turning out, and knowing that their little girl was going to be safe was all that mattered.

Now they just had to wait for her to arrive.


	7. The Arrival and Plans For the Future

**Chapter 7** During the last few days of his pregnancy, Ianto could often be found in the nursery puttering about, rearranging the stuffed animals, “I am _not_ playing with them!”, organising the area around the changing table so that nappies and wipes, lotion and powder, were all within easy, logical reach, as well as folding and re-folding the little clothes. In the afternoons, Clint often found him in the rocking chair dozing in the dappled sun coming through the bay windows. Without Ianto’s knowledge, Clint had taken several photographs of his boyfriend in that room, sound asleep, eyes closed, a soft smile on his face and hands resting on his bump. At night the two men would lie in one another’s arms, baby-filled belly between them, and talk about what their life would be like when she finally arrived. The last thing they did before turning out the light was to cross off another day, each red X bringing them closer and closer to Ianto’s pre-scheduled Caesarian-section.

However, just like the best laid plans of mice, men and Jack, their daughter decided to do her own thing and instead waiting until the scheduled C-section the following week, Ianto was rudely awakened at three in the morning to an intensely sharp pain shooting from his lower back and around his belly. After shaking Clint awake, Ianto tried to get out of bed only to discover that his water had broken. Ianto had never seen Clint move as fast as he did when Ianto told him that it was time. Ianto managed to contain his laughter for the most part as he watched his boyfriend fall out of bed because he got his feet tangled in the covers, but when he saw him stumble around their room and finally crash into the wall because he was trying to squeeze both legs into just one leg of his sweats, he couldn’t hold back any longer. He burst into gales of laughter that ended in a muffled shriek as another pain crashed through his body.

Fortunately for the father-to-be, the ever diligent JARVIS and his biometric monitoring program had notified Phil and the medical team that labour had begun and within minutes, Ianto was being supported on either side by Tony and Clint on his way down to the medical bay, while Pepper was waking up Doctor Elizabeth Roberts, the woman who had been taking care of Ianto and overseeing his little one since he’d arrived at the Tower. Knowing that Ianto was due very soon and having no experience with male pregnancy before, she had accepted Tony’s offer of a room in the Tower’s guest wing “just in case”. The good doctor had categorically refused to allow JARVIS to ‘spy on her’, as she called it, in her own bedroom however, so Pepper had been tasked with notifying her the old-fashioned way.

In her early sixties Doctor Elizabeth Roberts was a retired SHIELD doctor with an impressive service record; after thirty years with the organisation, she had grudgingly taken retirement saying that old age and SHIELD weren't a good mix. Still she hardly looked her age, with a few wrinkles here and there and a few greys streaking her short black hair, she was enjoying her gardens and her travels, only coming out of retirement when she was truly needed. To date, she was still the only woman who could get away with giving Nick Fury a stern talking to when the need arose.

Elizabeth had been Ianto’s personal doctor all through childhood and Ianto thoroughly adored her; when he’d seen her again for the first time in almost eight years, the first thing he said was, “So, you wanna be a grandma?” Elizabeth had smacked him up side his head, announcing in a tart tone of voice that not only was she nowhere near old enough but she certainly didn’t look like anyone’s grandmother even though as she’d hugged the stuffing out of Ianto he’d loved that she had that soft, loving grandmotherly feeling to her.

"Well Ianto, I hear this little one of yours is quite anxious to meet us." Elizabeth greeted with a smile as she entered the room. Unlike everyone else in the room – hair sticking up at odd angles and wearing whatever was easy to grab – her hair neatly combed and she was immaculately dressed, as always.

Ianto grimaced and clung tightly to Clint's hand as he worked his way through a contraction. "She gets her sense of timing from Jack," Ianto managed to get out through gritted teeth.

In all the time Elizabeth had been looking after Ianto he hadn't talked very much about his daughter's other father although it was quite clear that their relationship hadn't ended well. Although she’d seen Ianto alone for his first official pre-natal visit, she had been pleased that Clint had joined Ianto for all of his appointments after that and from her unique standpoint she’d watched as Clint fell in love with a tiny blob seen on the monitor, a rapid heartbeat heard over the speaker, and with her father, who’d wept openly when she’d told him it was a girl.

Elizabeth hadn’t been able to attend Ianto’s baby shower, although she had sent an antique handmade crib quilt which held pride of place in the baby’s room, waiting for her to enjoy its cosy warmth. When she’d come to the Tower for Ianto’s check-up a few days later, Clint had beamed like a proud father when he’d informed her that he was officially adopting the baby; “We’re gonna be a family!” he’d exclaimed while tears of joy shone in his eyes.

Ianto’s contractions were hard and strong, and try as he might, Ianto couldn’t keep from crying out from the unfamiliar pain. Concerned about his boyfriend, Clint turned to Elizabeth, “Can’t you do something for him?”

“I’m already doing it,” she reassured him even as she filled a syringe with anaesthetic and moistened a ball of cotton wool with alcohol; within seconds, she was injecting Ianto with a pain-relieving epidural.

“Thank you so much,” Ianto murmured gratefully as he sank back against the pillow. “Now what?”

“Now we wait,” Elizabeth said succinctly. “You and Clint keep up with your breathing exercises while I change into some scrubs and get a cup of coffee.”

Several hours passed finally Ianto heard the magic words, “It’s time to start pushing, Ianto.”

Already bearing down through a contraction Ianto managed to grunt out the worlds, “…thought you’d never ask…” through clenched teeth.

"Well then let's not keep the little princess from her adoring public any longer," Elizabeth said with a happy smile; Ianto’s delivery was the first of its kind for SHEILD and for her, and she was just as anxious as Ianto and the rest of the Avengers to meet his daughter.

Tony paced the length of the lounge, completing his eighth mile. "This is ridiculous! How long does it take to deliver a baby?" he asked glancing at the clock for the hundredth time.

Sprawled out on one of the sofas with Natasha, Pepper rolled her eyes in exasperation. "For heaven’s sake, Tony, how many times do I have to tell you? These things take time! Ianto’s not a vending machine and babies don’t just pop out like a bag of chips. Now sit down and shut up!" she ordered. “JARVIS will inform us when she's been delivered,

With an exaggerated pout Tony fell into the empty seat next to Phil and sank into his lover's embrace. “She’s being mean again,” he whined.

“I know,” Phil rubbed Tony’s back. “You stay here with me and I’ll protect you from the big bad lady, okay?” He looked over his partner’s shoulder, caught Pepper’s eye and they shared a smile that clearly commented on Tony’s childish behaviour.

“This is taking too long, I just want to meet my future namesake," Tony muttered.

Natasha shook her head and rolled her eyes as Pepper shifted position and rested against her. "Give it up, Tony, it's never going to happen; you want a Tony Jr. you're going to have to get it yourself,” Natasha informed him.

Tony's eyes lit up and he leapt to his feet, jabbing Phil in the side with his elbow in the process. “Can we, huh? Please?” he shot his long-suffering boyfriend a pleading look.

"We'll talk about it later," Phil promised as he massaged his bruised ribs. He had to admit the idea was appealing and he made a mental note to look into the adoption process in the near future because he had the distinct feeling Tony wasn’t going to let the topic go.

"Cool!” Tony danced around the room, having his hands in the air and cheering till he came back around in front of Phil again. “That's all I ask and don’t forget we're gonna need at least two…”

“Tah… twooo…?” Phil choked on the words.

“Well, yeah…” Tony nodded earnestly. “We have to have a Tony Jr. and a Phil Jr.," he declared. “After that, who know?”

Phil blanched white as a sheet as he looked in dismay at his boyfriend. They’d never once discussed having children of their own and now Tony wanted lord knows how many? Phil felt queasy and light-headed at the same time as his brain tried to wrap itself around the idea of…

"Sirs, I've been asked to tell you that Peanut has arrived," JARVIS’ voice interrupted Phil’s line of thought and that was all the four men, plus the newly arrived Nick Fury, needed to hear and with a whoop of excitement, they went thundering off down the hall to meet the newest member of their little family.

"She's perfect," Clint announced as he looked down at the tiny bundle wrapped in a pink blanket and cradled so lovingly against Ianto's chest.

Ianto had to agree. "Hey baban, welcome to world,” he said softly, “I know a lot of people who are looking forward to meeting you." Blue eyes peered up at Ianto and even though Elizabeth had told him that her eyes would be unfocused he was sure that his daughter was looking right at him. Mesmerised by what he was seeing and feeling, it took several minutes before Ianto looked at Clint. "Do you want to hold her?" he asked both wanting Clint to say yes and dreading having to give her up to him.

Clint's eyes lit up, “Are you sure?” and when Ianto nodded, he carefully took her into his arms ever mindful of how fragile her tiny body was. "Hey angel, it's nice to meet you," Clint whispered breathlessly as he gazed down at the most precious thing he had ever held. Finally tearing his eyes away, he glanced over at Ianto. "So daddy, what's…”

“Taddy,” Ianto interrupted.

“Huh?”

“It’s Welsh for daddy. I’m her taddy and you’re her daddy,” Ianto explained. She can’t call us both daddy, it’ll be too confusing.”

“Okay then, _Taddy_ , what’s her name? You know the others will want to know."

Ianto had given it a lot of thought over the last few months and he knew just the name for her. "Emily Rose."

"Emily Rose,” Clint’s smile grew, “a pretty name for a pretty girl. Welcome to the world, Emily Rose Jones."

"Emily Rose Jones-Barton," Ianto corrected softly.

That finally got Clint to lift his gaze off of Emily to stare at Ianto in disbelief. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Ianto smiled indulgently as he nodded. "You're her dad, it only feels right."

Careful of the little bundle in his arms Clint lowered his head and kissed Ianto gently on the lips. "Thank you, Yan; you'll never know how much this means to me."

Elizabeth really hated to break up the family moment but there were things that had to be done. "I'm sorry to disturb you but Ianto needs to get cleaned up and I'm sure that Tony is about to break down the door to meet such a beautiful baby. So, Clint, why don't you head them off at the pass and introduce Emily Rose to the rest of her family while Ianto and I finish up in here. I’ll get him settled into his room and let you know when he’s presentable?"

Ianto smiled gratefully at Elizabeth. "That's a good idea, Clint. I'll meet you in my room, okay?" He reached out and brushed a fingertip along Emily’s blanket-covered leg. “You be a good girl for your daddy, okay baban?”

“Are you sure you don’t want to be the one doing the introductions?” Clint looked at his boyfriend and when Ianto nodded toward the door, Clint’s face broke out in a brilliant grin. "Alright then, come on little one, it's about time to meet your family. Now, don’t be afraid, they may seem a little odd but I promise you that they’re wonderful and they’re all going to love you to pieces. You know, I think you'll really like your Uncle Tony once you get to know him, and I’m pretty sure he'll spoil you rotten," Clint informed Emily and even though he knew she couldn't understand a word he was saying he was positive that his new daughter was hanging on his every word.

"You know I have a feeling he's right," Elizabeth murmured as she watched Clint walk towards the door.

Ianto shook his head. “There’s no way I'm taking that bet," he grinned at her; courtesy of a slip-of-the-tongue by Phil, he already knew that Tony had accounts set up at every toy store in New York City.

A hush fell over the group and all eyes were on Clint as he walked through the doors and paused so that everyone could see the little pink bundle in his arms. "Hey everyone, I would like you to meet Emily Rose Jones-Barton," Clint announced with pure parental pride.

"Clint, I'm so happy for you," Natasha informed her friend and then she held up a finger in warning. "But believe me when I say that you won't be hanging out in the ducts with her for a long, long time."

Clint grinned. "I know. Ianto has already informed me that she's not allowed up into them until she's ten, but I think I can work him down by a few years.” He turned as Phil stepped up to his elbow. “Hey grandpa, you want to hold your granddaughter?" Clint really did not want to give up his daughter to anyone but he figured he should at least let Phil of all people have a chance with her.

"I'd like that very much." Phil happily accepted his granddaughter from Clint. "She has Ianto's button nose," he murmured.

"You have no idea how happy I am that she does, Ianto has the cutest nose and I so hoped that she would have it." Clint loved Ianto's nose and was pleased to see the trait on their little girl.

"After seeing how perfect she is, you gotta know that I’ll be adding a very special security protocol to JARVIS’ programming that’ll keep all future would-be love interests far away," Tony muttered under his breath.

"Doesn’t matter, they'll have to pass SHIELD's background checks first," Fury added; there was no way he was letting a low-life get near Emily.

Pepper felt sorry for Emily when she caught sight of the protective gleam in Natasha's eyes; it was clear that her girlfriend would destroy anyone who hurt Emily. _'Add a pet dinosaur as a nanny and I think dating is going to be next to impossible for you, little one.'_ Pepper already felt sorry for whoever wanted to date Emily, they were going to have an uphill battle on their hands. "You do know that she won't be dating for years," Pepper pointed out helpfully.

"She won't be dating until she's thirty or I'm dead, whichever comes last," Clint growled out and the others nodded their heads in agreement.

“Don’t you mean first?” Tony asked, “Whichever comes _first_?”

“No, I mean last. Since I plan on being around till she reaches… oh, I don’t know… fifty… no, make it seventy-five,” Clint decided. “My daughter can date when she’s seventy-five years old. I’ll probably be dead by then, so it’ll be okay cos I won’t be able to see it.”

“Well, you could come back as a ghost, I suppose, and keep an eye on her that way,” Tony mused.

Even as he shook his head over Tony’s silliness, he gazed down at his granddaughter and Phil couldn't help but wonder if she would ever realise just how incredibly special she was. _'You have a great destiny before you, little one, considering who your other grandparents are and who will be helping to raise you. I know for a fact that you'll find trouble easily, so just try not to give your poor taddy too many grey hairs.'_

__

_One month later_

Clint quietly moved through the hall his hair, still wet from the shower he had taken on the Helicarrier before heading home and dripping down his neck as he neared Emily's room he heard a soft voice drifting out to greet him.

_Why are there so many songs about rainbows and what's on the other side? Rainbows are visions, but only illusions, and rainbows have nothing to hide. So we've been told and some choose to believe it. I know they're wrong, wait and see. Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection. The lovers, the dreamers and me. Who said that every wish would be heard and answered when wished on the morning star? Somebody thought of that and someone believed it. Look what it's done so far. What's so amazing that keeps us star gazing and what do we think we might see? Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection. The lovers, the dreamers and me. All of us under its spell. We know that it's probably magic. Have you been half asleep and have you heard voices? I've heard them calling my name. Is this the sweet sound that called the young sailors. The voice might be one and the same. I've heard it too many times to ignore it. It's something that I'm supposed to be. Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection. The lovers, the dreamers and me._

Pausing in the doorway, mesmerised by the sight of his boyfriend gently rocking their daughter to sleep in his chair, Clint could only watch with incredible fondness in his eyes as he listened to Ianto singing softly to their little girl. "Hey," he whispered as he entered the room hoping not to disturb their slumbering little girl.

Ianto returned his smile. "Hi, welcome home." Ianto happily accepted the kiss that Clint offered him.

Although Clint was still on leave, a vital mission had needed the expertise of Hawkeye and the Black Widow. "It's good to be home. Have I told you how happy I am that you took Pepper up on her job offer?" He ran his fingers through Ianto’s hair. “Really happy?”

Even before giving birth to Emily, Ianto had decided that he just wasn't cut out to be a field agent; memories of Torchwood aside, he knew that he didn't wanted to miss a single minute of watching his daughter grow up. In a moment of serendipity now Pepper was the CEO of Stark Enterprise, Tony was in need of a new P.A. Ianto got to his feet and crossed over to the crib made up with pretty flowered sheets and laid Emily down. "I am too,” he whispered back, “even if I am looking after _two_ children now. Do you know I caught Tony reading a science paper to her?"

Clint could easily see that happening, it was just such a ‘Tony thing’ to do. "Well at least he hasn't blow up anything in his lab recently," Clint pointed out and Ianto rolled his eyes, ever thankful for small miracles. "Come on, you, it's time we were in bed too." Bending down Clint pressed a gentle kiss onto his daughter's forehead. "Good night, angel, dad loves you so very much."

Ianto wrapped his arms around Clint from behind and rested his chin on his boyfriend’s shoulder. "She loves you as well."

After giving Emily his own kiss goodnight Ianto turned on the nightlight that Tony had designed; it illuminated the stars painted on the ceiling and later, when Emily was older, it would give the impression that the planets were rotating in their orbits around their suns. Clint made sure that the baby monitor was turned on and then the two men retired to their room, taking it in turns to shower and change into sleep pants.

Sighing with deep satisfaction as he curled up against Clint's chest Ianto decided to give voice to something that had been on his mind for quite a while. "Clint, I know we've never talked about this but someday I would like to have another child, with you."

The next moment Ianto found himself flat on his back, pinned to the mattress under Clint. "Are you serious?" Clint asked strong emotions clearly evident in his voice.

Ianto’s smile was pure love and honesty. "Yes, very serious. I would love to carry your child. I know you love Emily as if she was your own, but I want a child that’s a piece of you and me."

"I love you, Ianto." Clint didn't say it often but he did his best to show Ianto every day just how much he meant to him.

Ianto cupped Clint's cheek with his hand, his thumb tracing the seam of Clint’s lips. "I know, I love you as well. That's why I want us to have a family."

"When Emily's older I would love for you to carry our child. I really liked your baby bump." Clint waggled his eyebrows and smirked.

"I know you did,” Ianto let out a little laugh. “And you especially like the part when my sex drive went out of control. I'm sure you won't mind me jumping you again at every possible opportunity, right?"

Clint leered as memories of stolen moments flooded his mind. "Oh yeah I enjoyed that part a lot! Not sure the others did, though, considering the number of times they caught us. I know they were more than a little surprised to find out that it was you who took our relationship to the next level when you jumped me in the kitchen." Clint loved the blush that painted Ianto’s cheeks a bright pink which was why he was rather fond of bringing up that particular memory.

"Well you’d been such a gentleman when all I wanted was for you to take me and then there you were, looking so sexy and I just snapped," Ianto defended himself. Really, it wasn't his fault that he had a gorgeous boyfriend and that they hadn't moved beyond making out; he’d gotten tired of Clint playing it safe and in a flash of hormone-driven lust, Ianto had gone for what he wanted.

“About a week later I found out that the team had a pool going,” Clint admitted.

“A pool?” Confused, Ianto frowned. “For what?”

“Who would make the first move, when, where,” Clint shrugged. “Tony had it all figured out on the computer.”

For a moment Ianto was insulted, then scandalised, and then amused. “Who won?”

“Natasha.”

“Huh,” Ianto mused. “I would have bet on Tony.”

“Yeah, well, Natasha used the money to take Pepper out to dinner and show. They had a wonderful time.”

Eager to change the subject, Ianto ran his fingers through Clint’s hair, before wrapping his hand around the back of his neck. "You do know that Elizabeth cleared me for all physical activities," he murmured seductively. He knew that they should be getting all the sleep they could given the precarious sleeping habits of a newborn but oddly enough, most nights Emily slept soundly and Ianto wasn't sure if it didn't have something to do with Jack's 51st century genes in her.

"Oh did she really," Clint murmured, any tiredness that he’d been feeling before was immediately all but forgotten as he lowered his head to claim Ianto's lips in a heated kiss. He had been waiting for this moment for such a long time and he was determined that they were both going to enjoy every second of it; _‘I’m going to show Ianto just how much_ _I_ _loves_ _him.’_


	8. Catching Up With the Others

**Chapter 8** Jack Harkness steeled himself for the unpleasantness that was sure to accompany his unexpected arrival in the Hub; he’d put off returning to Earth long enough, it was time to face the music. Still, he wasn’t brave enough to go first; he let the Doctor and Martha walk out ahead of him. Drawing a deep breath and dipping into a well of courage he didn’t realise he had, Jack exited the TARDIS and immediately knew something wasn't right when he found himself not in the familiar but shabby Hub but in an unknown and definitely alien room even larger than Torchwood’s underground base.

“Uh, Doc? Get a little lost again did we?” Jack looked around the command center of Stargate Atlantis; he couldn’t shake the feeling that they were in the right place after all, he just couldn’t figure out why. “I mean, this is nice and all, but I thought I asked you to take me to see my team; I need to tell them that I'm not coming back." _'And to face Ianto.'_

The Doctor looked around him in amazement; he’d heard about this place but like Gallifrey to most of the universe, Atlantis was supposed to be just a myth left over from millennia ago. He was so amazed by what he was seeing that he missed his companion’s growing emotional turmoil.

Jack hadn't planned on seeing them again, any of them; Torchwood had just been a waiting post, a blip in time until he could meet up with his Doctor again and get his answers. If life were perfect he’d just go on about his business, having adventures with a crazy Time Lord, spending his eternity having great sex and living the good life. But his conscience wouldn’t let him walk away; he considered the members of Torchwood his friends and he figured he owed them an explanation. As for Ianto, well, he needed to tell Ianto that whatever they had between them was over, he didn't want the young man to waste his life waiting for him to return. To make matters worse, Jack knew that that same conscience wasn’t going to let him rest until he’d apologised to Ianto for letting the Welshman fall in love with him.

Waving his sonic screwdriver at this, that and everything he could find in the room, the Doctor examined his readings and shook his head. "No, this is the right place,” he informed Jack. “This is where the TARDIS found Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper and Gwen Cooper."

Jack frowned, Tosh, Owen and Gwen? _‘Where’s Ianto?_ _Isn’t he with the rest of the team?’_ Icy dread washed over him; what if something had happened to him? Jack wasn’t ashamed to admit that he was a little worried.

The sound of an unknown voice addressing them jerked Jack from his reverie and the Doctor from his examinations. "Captain Jack Harkness, Doctor and Miss Martha Jones, welcome to Atlantis," Brigadier Jack O'Neil greeted them. "Now what can I do for you?"

Jack blinked at the rather icy greeting. "I'm looking for my team."

O'Neil raised an eyebrow. "You mean _my_ people?" Not even waiting for a response O'Neil glanced at his P.A. "Please collect Toshiko Dex, Owen Harper and Gwen Cooper and bring them to the main conference room."

Jack blinked at Tosh's new last name and the queasy feeling that far more than the one month the Doctor claimed had passed since he’d left Cardiff. His eyes were narrowed with suspicion as he turned but he didn't have time to ask the Doctor for verification before O'Neil's cold gaze was back on him.

"Follow me; there is a conference room we can use," O'Neil ordered gruffly as he spun on his heel and strode away.

The three had little choice but to follow.

Seated in the conference room amongst three men who weren’t speaking to one another plus two armed soldiers posted on either side of the door, Martha shifted uncomfortably; the hostility in the room was growing thicker by the minute and she expected it to develop legs and start crawling up the walls. Apparently General O'Neil wasn't overly fond of the Doctor and had a hearty dislike of Jack; she looked back and forth between the three wondering what the story was there. The silence deepened until she was pretty sure she could actually hear everyone’s heartbeats but at the last moment she was saved from insanity when the door to the conference room slid open and two women and one man entered the room.

"Jack?" The dark-haired woman with the gap in her teeth asked in disbelief. “Is that really you?” Martha thought she detected a Welsh accent.

"Hey kids, did you miss me?" Jack asked jovially as he stood up and opened his arms in welcome and he wasn't surprised that Gwen flew into his arms.

"Jack! I knew you would come back!" Gwen wrapped her arms around Jack and clung to the man as tightly as she could, drinking in his scent and relishing the feeling of his strong arms around her. Yes, she was still mad that it had taken Jack so long to come back to her – in fact, she still didn’t understand why he hadn’t taken her with him when he’d gone, but it didn’t matter anymore, she was simply overjoyed that he had finally come back to get her.

Jack hugged Gwen briefly – well as briefly as he could considering she wasn’t really willing to let go – before pulling away and looking at Tosh and Owen with a big smile on his face. While they did look happy to see him there was no possible way he could miss the anger blazing in their eyes, especially since Owen's look seemed to contain a degree of hatred as well. "What, no hug?"

"You're lucky I don't deck you where you stand. You have a lot of nerve coming back after five bloody years!" Owen snarled out. Martha had the distinct impression that it was only the other woman – she must be Toshiko – putting her hand on the man’s arm that kept him from punching Jack.

Jack froze and a truly horrified look came over him. "Five ye…?” He choked on his words and began coughing violently, his face turning red; he grabbed the glass of water Martha hastily handed him and gulped it down gratefully. Convinced that he could speak, he tried again, “I've been gone _five_ _years_?" Jack’s tone was one of absolute incredulity, he knew that the Doctor sometimes got his dates and times mixed up and occasionally his landings were in the wrong place, but five years was one hell of a big miss. He turned accusing eyes towards the Doctor for an explanation but the Time Lord suddenly found the top of the conference table to be fascinating and meriting intense scrutiny. Truth be told, he was ashamed of himself – he really hadn’t realised his timing was so terribly off and he simply couldn’t face Jack and the pain he was sure to see at the moment.

Satisfied for the moment that Owen wasn’t going to assault Jack, Tosh approached Jack and something in her eyes softened, her anger fading as she nodded, “Owen’s right, Jack; it's been five years since you disappeared without a trace."

Jack stared at her in horror, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly as he tried to process the facts. “No… But… I don’t…” He looked around the room, feeling helpless and needing support, but there was none forthcoming, not even from Gwen, who continued to gape at him fatuously. The enormity of the truth finally slammed into him and Jack fell backwards against the wall, grateful for its support or he’d have been on the floor as his knees buckled. "It's only been a month for me. Just a month! I swear! I didn't mean to be gone that long, I always planned to come back and share my good news with you, that I’d finally found my Doctor and to tell you all that… I was… leaving..." he slowly whispered the last few words as if he were ashamed of them.

Despite the stab of pain caused by Jack’s last statement, some of the hurt Tosh had been feeling faded as she pulled Jack into a comforting hug, rubbing his back as though he were a child. "You look happy, Jack, happier than I've seen you in a long time," Tosh whispered softly to him.

Jack had to agree with her on that point; he _was_ much happier traveling with the Doctor than dealing with the monotony of Torchwood never-ending paperwork. "I am, Tosh, I really am." Jack had waited so very long for _his_ Doctor to return to Cardiff so that they could travel together again, he’d been dreaming of that day for nearly one hundred and fifty years. True, he had come to care about his team, he had chosen each one himself for specific reasons and he was pleased with the results. But there was simply no way in the Universe that they were more important to him than the Doctor just as the Hub would never be the home that the TARDIS was.

Standing apart from the happy reunions, Owen was watching his teammates closely and he saw the very moment Gwen realised that Jack wasn't going to stay with them nor was he going to ask her to join him on his travels. Mentally he prepared himself, there was going to be one hell of an explosion.

A sudden thought struck Jack. "Where's Ianto?" he asked wondering why he hadn’t come up with the others, wondering if the man was too angry or upset to face him. Jack knew that he had a lot to make up for given his earlier callous treatment of Ianto. The idea that Ianto didn’t want to see him, that he was still upset after five years, upset Jack terribly; while he didn't actually _love_ the Welshman he did realise that the way he had treated Ianto while they’d been sleeping together wasn’t right. He’d spent so much time flirting with whoever caught his attention, telling stories of his past conquests and openly lusting after Gwen that he hadn't given a thought to how Ianto must have felt. He had to find Ianto and apologise to him; even if the younger man didn't forgive him, it _was_ his right not to after all. In the back of his mind he knew he wouldn't blame Ianto one little bit given how he had truly humiliated him with his thoughtless actions.

Tosh and Owen exchanged incredulous looks and then glared at Jack who was fully taken aback by the pure fury in Owen's eyes. It was the medic who spoke first and his voice was incredibly bitter. "Oh so _now_ you care about Ianto? Where was this care when you didn't include him in your plans for sending us to Stargate Command? Did you care that you left him out in the cold, or were you planning to let UNIT take him?" Owen sneered grimly at Jack; it was still a sore point with Owen that Jack hadn't thought enough of Ianto to make plans for him to go to the States with them.

“What?” Jack blinked in bewilderment. "Wait. Ianto's not here? But the plans were for all four of you. Where is he?" Jack began to panic as he wondered what had happened to the young Welshman he had so cruelly taken for granted.

As Owen clenched his fists and took several steps toward Jack, Tosh quickly interceded, literally placing her body between them. "Jack,” she said patiently, “Ianto didn't come with us. Stargate Command has no record of you making arrangements for him to join us; everything you did was just for the three of us.”

“No!” Jack searched his memory; he was sure he’d updated the team’s escape plan… didn’t he? _‘I must have done if Gwen was part of it!’_ He looked at Tosh with pleading, panic-stricken eyes, “What happened to Ianto?”

“Ianto’s gone, Jack,” Owen spat out. “When he found out that you didn’t care shit about what became of him, he made his own arrangements.” He pushed past Tosh and confronted his former boss. “You know what I find funny? Gwen bloody Cooper, the last person you hired was taken care of, but Ianto Jones, who’d been there far longer than Gwen, wasn’t. Don’t suppose you’d like to explain that little twist to us?”

“No, that can’t be… you’re wrong!” Jack protested weakly, “I know Ianto… I mean I _know_ I…” He shook his head weakly, _‘I wouldn’t have excluded Ianto, I wouldn’t!’_

Taking pity on Jack, who’d gone white as a sheet at Owen’s words, Tosh spoke up. “Ianto had a connection with SHIELD and he’s now Tony Stark’s P.A." She gave herself a mental kick; how could she have missed the fact that Gwen had been taken care of even though Ianto had been with Torchwood longer. She couldn't help but wonder what had happened; Jack seemed so sure Owen was wrong but she had seen the arrangements herself and there had been no mention of Ianto at all. "Jack, it’s all right,” Tosh promised Jack. “Everything worked out for the best, really it did. Ianto’s very happy with his new life."

Unwilling to let Jack get off so easily, Owen piped up with something he knew would hit Jack to the very core. "I'll say! Ianto's very happily married and has a daughter and a son."

Jack felt like someone had just punched him in the gut and he blinked several times and sagged down into the closest chair, waiting for the pain to ease a little. Finally he was able to smile albeit it was a very sad smile. He was happy that his former lover had moved on, of course he was, Ianto deserved the very best life had to offer, he just couldn't help but be a little upset knowing that Ianto was forever out of his reach. True, he didn't truly love Ianto but he did care about him a great deal; in fact, he’d even toyed with the idea of asking Ianto to join him on the TARDIS and see the wonders of the Universe. It was a moot point now, his heart belonged to someone else and Jack sighed deeply; he really would miss having Ianto's quiet companionship in and out of his bed. Forcing a cheerful tone to his voice, he asked, "Good for him, so who did he end up marrying?"

"Clint Barton," Tosh informed him. She was watching him closely; she’d seen how stricken Ianto had been to find out Jack had forgotten about him and now she could see that that mistake had hurt Jack just as deeply. She knew she shouldn’t be glad or take pleasure in another’s suffering, but a tiny bit of her was glad that Jack was in pain.

Both the Doctor and Jack choked when they heard the words ‘Clint Barton’ and they gasped for air while Martha stared at them in confusion. Finally Jack felt his lips curl into a fond, almost proud smile, Ianto Jones, the quiet, unassuming Welshman who could charm the world with a cup of coffee, had managed to snag himself one of the greatest heroes of all time. "Good for you, Ianto,” Jack was suitably impressed. Everyone knew the stories about the Avengers; he’d even had a short-lived and unrequited crush on Nick Fury years ago. Still Jack felt a tiny pang of jealousy, the kind he usually felt whenever he learned that one of his former lovers had moved on and found something that he didn't have and couldn’t offer: happiness and a home.

Eager to change the subject to something less painful, Jack turned his attention to his tech genius, "So what about you? Toshiko Dex?" he asked in a teasing tone, raising an eyebrow.

Tosh blushed lightly as she thought about her husband. "My husband Ronon, he's a member of SG1, the lead team for Atlantis. When I got here the last thing I ever expected was to find love but then I met him and just fell head over heels in love with him." Looking at the glow in her eyes, Jack was inordinately proud of her even though he’d had nothing to do with her happiness.

Owen snorted. "Oh please! Ronon went all caveman protective over you and spent every waking moment growling and glaring at anyone who even showed you the slightest interest." Despite his gruff tone Owen was happy for her; he knew she’d had a crush on him back in Cardiff and that he’d done nothing to let her down easily. He knew he could have been kinder to her, so seeing her so in love helped ease his conscience a little; Tosh deserved to find some happiness.

Jack turned his gaze to Owen. "What about you, Owen? Anyone special?" Jack asked.

Owen shook his head. "Naw, not me. I've had a few relationships but nothing special or serious. I'm always looking but right now I'm pretty happy being the carefree bachelor about town, so to speak."

Jack turned his attention to Gwen. "I'm surprised that you and Rhys haven't tied the knot yet." He had noticed that there wasn't a ring on Gwen's finger, of all his former team, he expected her to be the one settled down with a family. While he had lusted after Gwen and wouldn't have minded bedding her on numerous occasions, he would never have entered into a relationship of any kind with her. She only saw him as the hero, the fairy tale white knight in shining armour which meant that she would never be able to love the man himself. Yes, Jack liked the hero worship she freely gave him but it wasn’t the basis for a last relationship; Gwen would never be anything more than but a short-lived fling and he knew for certain that that wasn't what Gwen wanted from him.

Thrilled that he’d noticed, Gwen looked at Jack with intense longing. "Rhys and I have been over for almost five years. When I joined Stargate Command we tried the long-distance relationship thing, but after a couple of trips to the States, Rhys just couldn’t afford the air fare any longer. And besides, the secrets with Stargate are so much more important than Torchwood ever knew and keeping them was too much for our relationship and so we ended it; it was a relief actually, Rhys was just too needy for my taste.”

Gwen shrugged, “He met some weird woman named Donna Noble when she temped at Harwoods and they ended up getting married about four years ago; they’ve got a couple of kids, a house and a dog now." Yes it still stung that Rhys managed to move on from her so easily, but now Jack had come back to offer her a chance at life with him and she was going to take it.

Pressing herself against Jack, Gwen fluttered her eyelashes at him, giving him what she was sure was a totally smouldering, sexy look. "There's no one special in my life at the moment, so…”

Jack knew exactly what she was hinting at in her own heavy-handed way and now that he didn’t have to worry about Ianto finding out, it would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted to take what she was so blatantly offering, to finally have a taste of that fire but she wasn't what he truly wanted. As his long line of ‘love-em-and-leave-em’ encounters scattered across the Universe proved, he liked his freedom and that only came with open relationships, something he knew Gwen wouldn't like.

Plus, Jack had to admit, his conscience just wouldn’t let him; even though he and Ianto were over it didn't feel right to sleep with someone that Ianto used to work with. While it had been five years for Ianto and he'd clearly moved on, for Jack it had only been one month and even though it sounded girlie, his emotions regarding Ianto were just too raw. Well sure, he'd already slept with others during his latest trip in the TARDIS but he just couldn't bring himself to sleep with Gwen. He knew it would hurt Ianto if he did that; all during their fling Ianto had had to deal with Jack and Gwen mooning over each other like teen-agers.

No, Jack couldn't hurt Ianto further; despite all the people who thought otherwise, he really did have a conscience. Pushing Gwen away to arm’s length, he offered her the only platitude he could think of, "I'm sure you'll find that someone special soon," Jack patted her awkwardly on the shoulders.

Gwen felt her jaw drop in shock, Jack was turning her down? The intergalactic playboy who’d sleep with anything male, female or alien was bloody well turning her down! Torn between anger, disbelief and rejection, she stared at him in confusion. "But why, Jack? I thought you… I mean, there’s always been this… this thing between us? Why don’t you want me anymore?"

Jack knew from past experience that Gwen couldn't let it go; once she got something in her mind she was like a dog with a bone. "Gwen, you're a lovely woman and I won't deny that I’ve thought about it but don’t you understand? I hurt Ianto so much in the past by lusting after you even though I was perfectly happy being with him. I saw how much that hurt him and I’m ashamed to say that I know he thought he was just a stand-in for you. Do you have any idea how much it would hurt him if I slept with you after I've only been gone for one month? I won't do that to him, I refuse. I'm sorry Gwen, but all I can and will ever offer you is my friendship," Jack explained to her, his tone one of absolute finality.

"But Ianto would never know!" Gwen cried. “He’s busy playing happy families hundreds of light years away! He’s probably forgotten all about you by now!”

Gwen’s last comment struck to Jack the core; _“He wouldn’t forget me,’_ his mind protested. _‘He loved me!’_ Jack shook his head. "But _I_ would know. I may be a lot of things and yes, a first-class bastard is one of them, but I would never hurt someone like that. I would never hurt _Ianto_ like that. Plus I'm not staying. Gwen; I'm leaving with the Doctor. This isn't my home and I don't belong here."

"I could come with you. I would love to see what’s out there. You could show me your world." Gwen pleaded with him. “Please take me with you? We would be great together, traveling the Universe!”

"No. You belong here Gwen, I'm sorry." Jack pressed a final kiss on her forehead before moving backwards, putting a great deal of space between them.

Having born silent witness to Jack’s heartfelt honesty, Owen and Tosh exchanged a look. “Are you planning on seeing Ianto at all?" Tosh summoned the courage to ask.

Jack wasn't sure what he wanted to do now. He had hoped to see Ianto here with the others, but knowing that Ianto hadn’t wasted his time waiting for his errant lover to return but was instead so happy with his new family, that was good enough for him. There was no need to thrust himself back into Ianto’s life, but on the other hand, if he found out that Jack had returned, Ianto might be hurt that he didn't visit him.

"Maybe next time we can stop in and see your young man, give you something to look for to, yeah?" The Doctor spoke up although to his ears his words sounded hollow; he knew it would never happen. He could hear his TARDIS whispering to him in the back of his mind telling him in no uncertain terms that she wasn't about to let Jack anywhere near his young man. He wasn't sure why but the TARDIS was being very protective over this young Ianto Jones. _‘I wonder what she knows that I don’t,’_ he pouted; the idea that she was one up on him irked him terribly.

Jack was quite disappointed but he tried hard not to show it; he really had wanted to see Ianto one last time, to say hello and good-bye, and to meet his husband and children. He wanted to share in Ianto’s happiness even if just for a moment because if anyone deserved to find true happiness it was Ianto. "I guess I'll visit him another time." Jack looked and sounded defeated. The sparkle was gone from his eyes, there was a slight downward turn to his mouth and his shoulders slumped and for a moment, he looked every day of his true age.

Seeing him look so sad, Tosh felt badly for Jack. She took his hand in hers, "He's happy Jack, really happy and I know he does miss you, but I don't think he would give up his life for anything."

Seeing the earnestness in Tosh’s eyes, Jack forced a smile on his face. "That's all I ever wanted you know, for you all to be happy. So would you tell me about their children?" He found that he really wanted to know as much as possible about Ianto and his new life.

"Their daughter, Emily Rose, is four and she's a little princess, I swear she has everyone in that tower wrapped around her little finger and then their son, Michael, just turned two last week. He's going to be a little troublemaker, Ianto told me that he takes after Clint and likes crawling around in the strangest of places and the highest places are his favourites." Tosh spoke enthusiastically; she loved gushing about her godchildren. “Ianto say that sometimes he has no idea how Michael gets up there!”

Jack found himself honestly grinning. "Well I think Ianto has a pretty good idea how to handle them, given that he looked after all of us so well. You know what? Next time I visit I'll make sure I have a gift for them," Jack promised. “Something from an exotic marketplace maybe.”

_'And that will give us enough time to tell Ianto that you're back so he and Clint can decide if they want to tell you about Emily Rose and more importantly, to make sure that Clint and the others won't shoot you on sight,'_ Tosh thought with a hint of worry. She knew that if Jack started visiting Stark Tower on a regular basis it wouldn't take him very long to see the marked resemblance between him and Emily. She didn’t know how Jack would react if he found out that he had fathered a child with Ianto and Ianto kept that information from him. Then last but not least, there was the whole thing about Clint and the others being more than a little ticked with Jack for just leaving Ianto without any explanation. All in all, Nick Fury’s Avengers might not be the most welcoming of hosts should the immortal just show up uninvited.

Yes, for now it would be better for everyone concerned if Jack and Ianto were kept far, far apart for now.

But as Tosh stood back, watching the myriad emotions play across Jack’s face and seeing the turmoil in his eyes that he couldn’t hide no matter how much he smiled, she couldn't deny that there was something odd going on. She could see that Jack had deep and honest feelings for Ianto and she knew that Jack would never throw Ianto to the wolves, so to speak. A part of her was burning to find out how Jack's arrangement for them had gone so drastically wrong and her gut said that someone else had a hand in the situation. _‘I am going to get to the bottom of this,’_ Tosh made a silent vow to her missing friend.

The TARDIS wondered if Jack would ever be able to forgive her should he learn that she was the reason why Jack had returned so late. As much as she loved Jack and she did love her sweet immortal, Ianto was the child of her lonely angel. She had seen Ianto's fate if he continued to love Jack, and she would not her precious one die in doubt. The bottom line was that no matter how much she cared and loved about Jack or any of her angel's companions, her family would _always_ come first. The TARDIS was determined to do everything in her power to protect Ianto, even from himself.

Prime Minister Harold Saxon leaned back in his plush leather chair and smiled warmly as he watched the video footage of Ianto and Clint playing with their children. His hearts sang with joy that his precious boy was deeply loved and happy, so very happy. The knowledge had been enough for him to put his plans for taking over planet Earth on hold for the foreseeable future. After all his son and grandchildren were growing up on this backwater world and the desire to spend as much time as possible watching them changed his plans from despotic ruler to benevolent protector.

He knew what was coming to Earth in a few years and he would be damned if he let the 456 get their monstrous claws into his precious family. "Come if you dare, you filthy addicts, but you’ll find that the Master is waiting for you and I will make the skies will burn before I let you hurt those I care about," the Master vowed darkly. After everything he had done to protect his only offspring and ensure that he lived as normal a life as possible, destroying a race that got their high from feeding on children would be nothing to him.

“…like swatting a fly and not even you, Doctor Goody-Two-Shoes who’s got to save everyone, will be able to stop me from wiping the 456 out of extinction!”

The End


End file.
